North Yorkshire County Council has granted planning permission for Selby Renewable Energy Park to start work on a £20m energy plant in September 2009.

The park will be one of the UK's largest anaerobic digestion facilities, set to generate 32,000 MW of energy a year by treating 165,000 tonnes of commercial food waste.

Shaun Flynn, business development manager for the Selby Renewable Energy Park, commented: "This project will provide a significant boost to the local economy by creating jobs and will also make available a cheap non fossil fuel heat source that will attract businesses to the area."