A $9 million government boost to wood energy production has been welcomed by a company with its sights set on building a torrefied wood-pellet plant in Kawerau. …In line with the plan, the Government is offering $3m in co-funding via the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority and $6m in repayable grants to businesses looking at building wood-energy supply manufacturing facilities. Foresta, an Australian company planning to build a $410m wood-pellet plant in Kawerau, told Local Democracy Reporting that it had already applied for funding under the new facility. …Foresta said the planned Kawerau plant on Putauaki Trust industrial-zoned land could employ more than 75 people. …Foresta has proposed that a consistent supply of wood pellets to Huntly Power Station could be a viable option to offset issues around coal supply and reliance, while maintaining necessary power generation levels.