Questions over energy policy as Drax pauses investment into its BECCS system - The Yorkshire Post says

The reality is that the Government has been caught on the hop, yet shows no signs of learning lessons from this past winter.

There is a lack of understanding of the concerns that ordinary people have - choosing between heating and eating.

In a developed country, warm banks should not even have to be a consideration. Instead we should be investing in new technologies that make use more energy resilient while also doing what we can to mitigate the impact on the environment.

That is why Drax’s decision to pause its multi-million pound investment into its BECCS system is particularly concerning. Drax says it is pausing investment into its multi-million-pound carbon capture and storage project as it seeks a “firm commitment” that the scheme will be given Government backing.

While a Government announcement is expected this month on the first round of successful applications for funding for such projects, it should be providing clarity much sooner. With Drax having already outlined plans to invest its own £2bn into the scheme. It is symptomatic of the Government’s approach to its energy strategy that there is still no clarity on BECCS.

However, Drax’s BECCS system has come in for criticism over the biomass aspect of the programme with many groups claiming that the burning of biomass wood-pellets creates more CO2 emissions than the burning of coal. Drax claims that its BECCS plans could lead to eight million tonnes of carbon removals in the UK per year by 2030, and that BECCS is critical to energy security and efforts to address the climate crisis.