The Drax Group has reduced carbon dioxide emissions from power generation by 90% in less than ten years.
The company has the least carbon-intensive generators in Europe, and this step moved it closer to its ambition of being carbon-negative by 2030.
The British renewable energy company, the former largest coal power station in Western Europe, shut down commercial coal-powered generation.
The company is now a purely renewable generator and one of the region’s major decarbonizers, as it sold off its gas assets.
Drax plans to deploy the world’s largest carbon recovery project in the first half of 2021 by equipping a power plant in North Yorkshire with critical negative emission technology BECCS.
Deploying BECCS at Drax could enable it to make an even greater contribution to carbon reductions in the coming decade while creating jobs and supporting the U.K.’s green transition.
By equipping BECCS in Drax, the company could significantly contribute to carbon reduction over the next decade.
The deployment of such technology can create jobs and support the U.K.’s green transition.
U.K.’s climate target
“Cutting Drax’s carbon emissions by over 90% in under a decade is a unique achievement.” Said Drax Group CEO, Will Gardiner.
Switching fossil fuels with clean, renewable energy like Biofuel and hydro has enabled the U.K.’s power system to decarbonize faster than any other major economy.
“The industry must not only cut emissions but also permanently eliminate CO2 from the atmosphere,” Gardiner added.
Gardiner said that after BECCS deployment, Drax will lead in permanently removing CO2 and supporting clean growth and economy by providing thousands of jobs.
BECCS is the only technology now that can deliver negative emissions that meet the climate change response set in Paris in 2015.
It can also generate reliable renewable electricity the world needs.
Drax has selected Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) as its technical partner to begin the planning process for developing BECCS at Drax this decade.
Drax started exploring opportunities with Bechtel, and next-gen BECCS technologies with Phoenix BioPower, creating new opportunities in the U.K.
With adequate government support, the first BECCS unit at the Drax could operate in 2027 and a second in 2030.
This permanently removes over eight million tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere every year.
Drax would be the world’s largest carbon recovery project and provides a huge proportion of the harmful emissions the U.K. needs to meet its climate goals.
Drax acquired Pinnacle Renewable Energy Inc, a Canadian biomass producer, critical to the company in six months.
This move provided Drax with additional biomass production capacity and fewer costs.
Tags: Drax, Power, Electricity, CO2, Carbon emissions, Renewable energy
