AN AIRPORT will become the first in the UK to be powered partly by willow trees.
The first cuttings in the 26-hectare willow farm planned at East Midlands Airport were planted yesterday.
The trees will produce fuel for a biomass boiler in the terminal building.
The farm, located north of the runway on land owned by the airport, is expected to produce about 280 tonnes of wood fuel each year.
This will save 350 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.
Neil Robinson, the airport’s director of sustainability, said: “We believe we are leading the way for airports, and this is the first step of an ongoing process that will take approximately five years to finish.”
