Generator looks to ‘power plants’

Drax, the vast coal-fired power station near Selby, has announced plans to become the first electricity-generating company in the country to open its own farm dedicated to the testing and development of so-called “energy crops”.

The 70-acre farm is to be established on land within the boundaries of the power station site.

It will cover marginal land which has required drainage and preparation to bring it back into production – a move Drax said underlies the “sustainability” at the heart of the project.

Rob Wood, biomass buyer at Drax, said: “It is precisely this type of low grade land that can be given over to new use.

“We aim to inform farmers about the opportunities and help them see how energy crops or agricultural by-products might fit into their business.”

With its 4,000 Megawatt output, Drax is the largest power station in western Europe and supplies the UK with seven per cent of its electricity. Its size makes it the UK’s largest single emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2).

Under the Government’s new carbon floor price, Drax will have to pay a levy of at least £16 for every ton of CO2 it emits from 2013.

In an effort to cut its emissions, Drax has for some time been developing a strategy of using more biomass in place of coal.

Biomass is plant-based material which can be derived from a range of organic sources and burned to create power.

Materials typically used include wood chips and agricultural residue such as oak husks and cocoa shells, as well as purpose-grown crops including miscanthus and elephant grass.

Drax burned some 900,000 tonnes of biomass last year – more than double the amount in 2009.

Its farm has been set up in partnership with Masstock Arable and Brown & Co, two specialist companies already working with Drax on its programme of direct contracts with farmers for the supply of biomass.

The “Energy SMART” farm will be managed by Masstock, with findings from the firm’s practical trials used to maximise the farm’s output and add to Drax’s research data on renewable energy crops.

The planting of 10 acres of miscanthus got under way last month, although the main tranche of crop planting will take place this autumn and in spring 2012.

Masstock will be considering types of wheat, barley, oats and other cereals for testing, as well as Sorghum, an energy crop grown widely in the United States.

“The trial will examine what yield can be achieved and any pest problems,” Mr Wood said. “It might be that the plant is not well suited to the land, but we’ll have to wait and see.”

The announcement has been warmly welcomed by CO2Sense, the region’s low carbon development agency, as a positive step forward in the drive to reduce Yorkshire’s carbon emissions.

Chief executive Joanne Pollard said: “It’s essential we reduce our reliance on fossil fuels for electricity generation, so it’s great to see Drax continuing to explore renewable alternatives to coal.

“We hope this research project leads to a wider understanding of how energy crops can be grown in a sustainable way.”