The contract with electricity and gas firm Belgian Eco Energy will see Abengoa develop the plant in the city of Ghent, which is expected to cost more than €315m.

The Spanish firm will be responsible for the engineering, design and construction of the plant, which will be fuelled by wood chips and agro-residues.

Abengoa said through the technology of Circulated Fluidized Bed, the biomass will be transformed into high pressure steam, which passes via a steam turbine to generate energy.

The energy generated from the facility will be used for the power supply industry.

The plant will feature a district heating system, which will distribute about 100MW of thermal energy to industries and households in Ghent.

The development of the Ghent facility will allow Abengoa to support Belgium to come closer to achieve the environmental objectives set by the European Union.

Abengoa currently has biomass facilities in Europe, Latin America and the US.

In October 2014, Abengoa inaugurated a $500m plant in Hugoton, Kansas, US, which makes biofuel from crop waste.

Located about 90 miles southwest of Dodge City, the plant uses only second generation (2G) biomass feedstocks for ethanol production.