Drax set for more Government support to keep it in business in North Yorkshire

This week the Telegraph reported that the company will get the green light for its carbon capture project based at its North Yorkshire power plant.

Drax claims that the project will allow the company to be “carbon-negative” by removing and storing the carbon released from its energy production process.

It is understood that Claire Coutinho could announce the plans as soon as this week, with the deadline for the scheme’s development consent order due this month.

Ministers are also set to launch a consultation on how Drax’s green subsidies can be extended after they expire in 2027.

The company has been seeking a bridging mechanism to extend the end date for the billions in subsidies it has received to the point at which its Biomass with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) system goes online.

The move, which could extend the taxpayer support into the 2030s is likely to prompt a fresh backlash over the Government's commitment to Net Zero and green energy.

In 2022 Drax faced intense criticism from green groups after BBC Panorama alleged that the wood used in its biomass plants are from some of the world’s most precious forests, rather than the sustainable waste wood which Drax claims.

Tomos Harrison, an analyst at global energy think tank Ember, said: “Beccs is an unproven and controversial technology that cannot be guaranteed to deliver negative emissions and will cost bill-payers even more.”

Rishi Sunak has also faced questions over his commitment to green energy after backing further oil and gas licences in the North Sea.

Last week this saw Chris Skidmore, the Government’s former net zero tsar quit as a Conservative MP, saying the Prime Minister’s stance on Net Zero was “wrong” and that it would cause “future harm” to the country.

Ministers will also face further scrutiny of its green credentials when the National Audit Office publishes its report on the Government’s biomass strategy later this winter.

Will Gardiner, CEO Drax Group, said: “We plan to invest billions in developing two BECCS units at Drax Power Station which could create up to 10,000 new jobs at the peak of construction.

“BECCS is the only credible large-scale technology that can generate secure renewable power and deliver carbon removals. The development of BECCS at our North Yorkshire site would ensure that it can continue to play a critical role in UK energy security for the long-term, particularly as more intermittent generation comes online and older nuclear plants are decommissioned.

“Worldwide demand for BECCS is growing. In the US, we have seen increasing appetite for the deployment of the technology.

“Our BECCS plans in North Yorkshire would create one of the world’s largest engineered carbon removals projects and put the Humber and the UK on the map as the global centre of BECCS development.

“The UK Government wants to deploy five million tonnes of carbon removals by 2030, we believe this can only be achieved through building BECCS at Drax Power Station.

“Government support for deploying BECCS grew in 2023, including the publication of the Biomass Strategy and updates on the Track-1 expansion and Track-2 processes, and we believe that we will see further policy support emerge shortly.”

A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesman said: “Biomass plays a key role in delivering a more secure, clean energy sector in Britain.

“Capturing emissions from this process can remove significant volumes of CO2 from the atmosphere and support our Net Zero ambitions. We will be consulting on the proposals in due course.”