Background Waste wood co-generation provides an answer to meet the stipulations of several European policies related to various environmental issues. It increases the contribution to co-generation and the use of renewable sources of energy, it decreases land-fill and waste incineration. Furthermore, it helps to reduce the greenhouse effect in two ways: firstly by using a renewable fuel, and secondly by co-generation of heat and power. The FICB technology (Fast Internal Circulating Fluidised Bed) gasifier was developed at the Technical University of Vienna in the nineties (supported by the European 4th and 5th Framework Programme JOULE). A prototype is currently being tested in an 8 MWth installation in Guessing. This installation uses clean wood chips as feedstock. Neither a full scale installation , nor the use of waste wood as feedstock have been tested up to now. Objectives The city of Amersfoort has set a very ambitious target for the overall reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (less 40%) in the new residential area of Vathorst, in comparison with other residential areas built in 2002. The Dutch energy utility company, ENECO Energie Utrecht, is responsible for the supply of heat to the Vathorst residential area. In order to achieve the objectives which have been set by the city, ENECO Energie Utrecht will build an innovative fired combined heat and power (CHP) gasifier in the residential area. The objectives of this installation are to provide base heating and hot water load for 7050 households as well as green electricity (only the innovative part of the biomass co-generation system are part of this LIFE-project). To this end, a pilot installation developed by the technical University of Vienna for the co-incineration of clean wood chips will be upscaled and adapted to waste wood (e.g. the flue gas cleaning treatment has to be more efficient). The proposed 15 MWth biomass installation will produce electricity with two gas engines and a steam turbine. The expected electricity efficiency will be about 30% and the overall efficiency about 70%. Another objective is to optimise the processing chain for the wood fraction in waste which results from construction and demolition activities, by demonstrating the separation of these wood wastes into a recycled fraction and/or a bio-energy fraction. Results The LIFE project did not start.