An energy company once labelled western Europe’s biggest polluter is planning to become the world’s first carbon-negative business within 10 years.

The owner of the Drax power plant, once a coal-fired behemoth, is the first company in the world to set out plans to absorb more carbon emissions from the air than it creates by 2030.

The bold ambition will build on its work to transform the Drax plant in North Yorkshire from one of the dirtiest power stations to a renewable energy giant and a pioneer of carbon capture.

For decades the UK’s largest single power plant pumped millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere by burning coal to make electricity. In recent years Drax has converted its huge coal generation units to run on renewable biomass, or wood pellets.

The transformation has required subsidies of about £2m a day. The next phase of its climate action plan will require further government support to develop technology that can capture millions of tonnes of carbon emissions from the plant before permanently storing the gas in underground caverns.

Will Gardiner, the chief executive of Drax, said bioenergy with carbon capture (BECCs) was critical to beating the climate crisis and creating a sustainable economy.

“Drax’s ambition is to be carbon negative by 2030. Having pioneered the use of sustainable biomass, Drax now produces 12% of the UK’s renewable electricity. With the right negative emissions policy we can do much more, removing millions of tonnes of emissions from the atmosphere each year,” he said. Read more

Also Read: John McDonnell joins Arlene Foster in attack on PM ‘you can’t trust’

hw.kk