Drax will keep raising the levels of carbon emissions in the atmosphere until the 2050s despite using carbon capture technology, according to scientific research.
The large power plant in North Yorkshire is a significant generator of electricity for the UK but has faced repeated criticism of its business model of burning wood pellets sourced from forests in the US and Canada.
The new study found that the intensive forest management needed to source 7m tonnes of wood pellets from forests in the US to burn as fuel every year would erode the carbon stored in the ecosystems of these pine forests for at least 25 years.
Drax was once one of the largest coal power plants in Europe but its owners claim that its switch to burning wood pellets means it is now a source of “carbon-neutral” electricity because the emissions produced from its chimney stacks are offset by the emissions absorbed by the trees grown to produce the pellets.
The research was based on a 2021 peer-reviewed analysis of the carbon emissions associated with using biomass pellets sourced from three Drax-owned mills in the southern US and combusted to generate about 4% of the UK’s electricity.
The original study, by Dr Thomas Buchholz of the Spatial Informatics Group, a scientific thinktank, found that the demand for wood pellets created by Drax would lead to reduced forest carbon stocks in managed pine forests in Louisiana and Mississippi which could raise atmospheric emissions for at least 40 years.
An update to the study showed that the power plant’s plan to fit carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to the plant by the 2030s would reduce this period of rising emissions but they would still be higher than they would otherwise be for decades, during a period that scientists have warned is crucial in addressing the climate crisis.
“The results demonstrate that the CCS technology itself is less important than the impact of wood pellet sourcing on forest carbon stocks and flows,” the study said.
The company, which has claimed more than £7bn in bill-payer-backed biomass subsidies since 2012, is in talks with the government to extend its subsidies from a 2027 end date until 2030 so it can fit CCS technology to the plant from 2030 to generate electricity with “negative emissions”.
These claims have been refuted by scientists, and the latest research is likely to reignite questions over Drax’s green credentials and the government’s support for biomass power.
The government has thrown its weight behind CCS technology, pledging up to £21.7bn of funding over 25 years to the industry last month.
Chris Hinchliff, a Labour MP on the environmental audit committee, said: “The science behind Drax’s claims to be able to achieve negative carbon emissions appears to be dangerously flawed.
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“With runaway climate change threatening our planet, tough choices need to be made. Public funds should not be spent on operations which are incompatible with the UK’s commitment to achieving net zero by 2050. There are many other decarbonisation projects offering tangible climate benefits that are much more worthy of investment.”
In August, Drax agreed to pay the regulator a £25m fine for submitting inaccurate data on the sourcing of wood pellets from Canada between April 2021 and the end of March 2022.
The company has also faced claims, reported in the Financial Times, that it has used ecologically important wood sourced from old forests in Canada despite calls that these woods should be protected as their benefits include absorbing and storing atmospheric carbon for centuries.
A spokesperson for Drax said the research was “at odds with what the world’s leading climate scientists say” about the need for bioenergy fitted with carbon capture – known as Beccs – to remove carbon from the atmosphere.
“Drax is committed to rigorous data and transparent reporting to ensure our current biomass production and future Beccs activities support positive climate outcomes across all timescales, grounded in the best available science,” the spokesperson said.
“This report is attempting to use limited science to validate what appears to be a predetermined view that Beccs is not sustainable. It uses assumptions and models that do not reflect Drax’s sourcing practices or typical forestry operations in the US south,” they added.