Plans for £2bn carbon capture project at Drax Power Station take key step forward

Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire is hoping to start the world’s largest bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) project which would remove greenhouse emissions from the atmosphere that are produced by burning the fuel.

If the scheme gets the go-ahead, thousands of jobs could be created.

The Government has now published a document setting out the submission process for BECCS projects ahead of a planned announcement in mid-December on which schemes it will invite into a detailed due diligence phase.

It is intended that the first sites will be operational by the late 2020s as part of the country’s net zero ambitions.

Will Gardiner, Drax Group CEO, said: “This announcement shows the government’s continued commitment to decarbonising the economy by deploying the vital carbon removal technology bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS). This could kick start a whole new sector of the economy and support energy security.

“BECCS is vital because it can produce reliable renewable power whilst also permanently removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere – no other technology does both.

“Drax plans to invest £2bn in what will be the biggest carbon capture in power project in the world, supporting UK carbon targets and energy security, delivering thousands of jobs in the north in the 2020s, and creating new export opportunities.”

Further detail on the role of BECCS in meeting net zero targets is expected to be provided in the Government’s biomass strategy which is due to be published later this year.

Last week, Tory leadership contender and North Yorkshire MP Rishi Sunak said he backed the Drax proposals.

“As a Yorkshire MP, I am excited about the opportunities and jobs that Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage could bring to our region, as well as its potential for sustainable power generation,” he said.

Drax Power Station produces around 12 per cent of the UK’s renewable electricity, by burning biomass fuel, which is mainly wood pellets imported from North America.

Though supply chains between the UK and US for the fuel are unlikely to see the same level of turbulence that has rocked Europe due to the conflict in Ukraine, because of the strong relationships between the two nations, there are questions over how green the energy is.

Earlier this month, The Guardian newspaper obtained leaked recordings of Kwasi Kwarteng, the Business Secretary, telling MPs that Drax’s model currently was “not sustainable” and “doesn’t make any sense” as it doesn’t help reduce carbon emissions.

However, Whitehall sources told the Yorkshire Post that Drax’s implementation of the new technology would be key to the UK’s future energy security.

“BECCS is the only sustainable way to continue biomass in the way it removes emissions from the atmosphere. [Drax] is by far the single largest renewable energy generator in Britain, it is critical to energy security.”

Millions of tonnes of carbon could be cut

Drax believes that its plans for the plant in North Yorkshire could remove eight million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year from 2030.

Bruce Heppenstall, Drax Plant Director, said last week that the project would be “transformative for the region’s economy”.

He added: “Drax is ready to invest £2bn in the project and work to build BECCS could get underway as soon as 2024, creating and supporting around 10,000 jobs”.

A Whitehall source said last week: “It will be for the new government to take this forward, but from Kwasi’s position as energy secretary, he’s fully supportive of biomass.”