Germany's RWE starts biomass facility in Goch ESSEN, Germany, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- German energy company RWE announced the startup of a biomass facility that can produce as much as 7.6 megawatts of energy. RWE Innogy, through a joint venture with the municipality of Goch in eastern Germany and local food producer Nahr-Engel, inaugurated a biomass-fuel cogeneration plant. The facility, which uses landscape wood as a fuel source, can provide enough power to meet the energy demands of 11,000 households. The German energy company said the facility would potentially avoid about 48,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year. Frank Mattat, head of biomass operations for RWE Innogy, said the facility was "largely carbon-neutral" because of the fuel source. "With a construction period of roughly 18 months, we are absolutely on target," he said. The plant is a successful example of decentralized combined heat and power production and stands for climate protection and energy efficiency. RWE said the project represents of investment of around $44 million. Nahr-Engel would use team generated from the facility for the production of potato products.