Drax plans a giant leap forward in the move to green, clean energy

IT could be the biggest change to happen at Drax since the power station was commissioned almost 40 years ago.

The UK's biggest single source of carbon emissions last week announced plans to investigate converting one of its six boilers to burn only biomass.

Drax has been burning biomass – organic plant matter from materials such as straw, oat husks and elephant grass – for seven years. But converting one of its 650 megawatt (MW) boilers from coal to biomass could be the start of the plant's total conversion. The 4,000MW plant, which supplies about seven per cent of the UK's electricity, is giving serious thought to going green.

If the plans gets support from Government, and the first conversion is followed by the other five units, eventually "it would be one of the biggest clean power stations in the world", according to Drax finance director Tony Quinlan.

The power station set out its vision for biomass at the House of Commons last week, and chief executive Dorothy Thompson also met Energy Minister Charles Hendry.

Drax's biomass ambitions are currently thwarted because producing heat from biomass is about two or three times more expensive than generating it from coal. Britain's renewable energy support scheme, the Renewables Obligation (RO), caps the amount of renewable energy that can come from biomass. Biomass co-firing only receives a quarter of the support enjoyed by offshore wind, nor does it have certainty over subsidies.

So despite recently adding 400MW of biomass co-firing capacity to give the plant a potential total output of 500MW from biomass, it is firing at only about half of that.

This could reduce its carbon emissions by 12.5 per cent a year, but it is unable to because of what Mrs Thompson calls a "wonderful fallacy".

"Biomass is the earth's fourth most plentiful energy resource," she said. "We believe with the right policy framework we can play a vital role in not just biomass generation but the right sort of biomass generation."

Drax said its biomass plans would help Britain meet its commitment to reducing greenhouse gases by 34 per cent by 2020.

"Suddenly this is a game changer for the country's ability to meet these targets," said Drax's director of regulation, David Love.

Switching a boiler to burn just biomass would take about 18 months, according to Drax production director Peter Emery. He said the cost of switching a burner would be far less than a new-build plant.

The plant has not put a price on how much the conversion would cost. While existing infrastructure such as coal milling could be used, its conveyor system would likely need to be "beefed up".

Coal will clearly play a major part in Drax's future for many years to come, but the conversion of a boiler would be the biggest projects of its kind anywhere in the world.

Meanwhile, the group will also forge ahead with its plans for three standalone 290MW biomass plants, with sites planned at Selby and Immingham.

However, as Drax's biomass ambitions grow, so will its fuel requirements. It is expected to burn about 800,000 tonnes of biomass this year, up from about 400,000 tonnes last year, although some way off its capacity of up to two million tonnes.

Drax sources some of its biomass domestically, including straw and miscanthus from Yorkshire farms.

But it admits "the majority" of its biomass is sourced from abroad – understood to be about three-quarters – although it insists it only buys fuel which meets strict sustainability measures.

"It's a little bit chicken and egg," said Mr Emery. "We want to source biomass in the UK and we are trying to develop a supply chain in the UK."

But he said until the supply chain is in place, Drax cannot meet its ambitions with UK biomass alone.

Mr Emery said foreign deliveries via 50,000 tonne cargo ships can deliver greater carbon savings than multiple journeys by 20 tonne lorries.

The group is also investigating the feasibility of carbon capture and storage, where harmful emissions are captured and pumped underground, although analysts believe this is some way off. "We've got other options that can move the story forward," said Mr Emery.

"It could be a mixture of (dedicated) biomass, maybe CCS, and co-firing."

Evolution Securities analyst Lakis Athanasiou said the biomass plans could be relatively easy with Government support.

"A sensible chief executive will be looking around to see what else can they capitalise on," he said.

"(They will say) 'We're good at generating power from solid fuels and that (biomass) is an extension of that'."

He added: "The markets trust Drax to do the right thing. They understand they are in a difficult situation in regards to the economics of running a coal plant – although in the last few months things have improved. If the policy is there, it's a simple step for them to convert a boiler to dedicated biomass. It's a massive step for them to go to CCS."

Putting the case for biomass power

Drax knows its plans will falter unless it can persuade politicians and environmentalists that the biomass it sources is less harmful than coal and results in a big net reduction in carbon emissions.

Drax has drawn up a biomass sustainability policy, hinged on a commitment to "significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions compared to coal-fired generation".

Chief executive Dorothy Thompson said biomass carbon savings range from 75 to 95 per cent compared with coal, and 50 to 90 per cent when set against gas. While Drax sources biomass globally, the policy also pledges not to result in a net release of carbon, nor to endanger food supply or communities where biomass is essential for subsistence.

Keith Allott, head of climate change at WWF UK, welcomed Drax's efforts at opening up debate on biomass and its sustainability policy, but warned it risks creating more problems. "Bio energy is a key part of the renewable energy future but it's a really precious resource and you have got to use it very carefully because there's only so much of it that the world can produce before you run into real problems."