Drax power station plans to stop burning controversial Canadian wood pellets and switch to a US-only supply from 2027.
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.
Generating approximately 6% of the UK’s electricity, the plant has received billions of pounds in renewable energy subsidies from the government levied on household energy bills as wood-burning is classed as a source of clean energy. This is on the condition that the biomass pellets are made from waste or low-value wood from sustainable, commercially managed forests.
To feed this biomass plant, Drax owns wood pellet production plants in Canada. According The Guardian, the company has started reducing the amount of Canadian wood pellets it burns and plans to stop sourcing pellets from British Columbia entirely within the next year.
The company said its pellet...