Drax power station has been crowned the UK’s “largest single source of carbon emissions” yet again, with emissions rising 16% from last year.
Located near Selby in North Yorkshire, Drax started life as a coal-fired power station when it was opened in 1974, but started co-firing biomass by 2010 in response to government concerns about the UK’s carbon emissions.
According to a report from think tank Ember, Drax has now been the UK’s top emitter for the last 10 years running. It was found to emit more than the next four largest polluters combined and more than the six most emitting gas power plants combined. Its emissions are equivalent to over 10% of the UK’s total transport emissions and nearly 3% of the country’s territorial total.
The wood pellets burned by the power plant have an equivalent carbon intensity to coal – which is considered to be the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel – but are burned at higher volumes due to their low energy density, meaning that burning wood emits more CO2...