It could be the dream scenario for fighting the climate crisis: one of the world’s largest and highest polluting power stations, which, at its peak, emitted 23 million tons of C02, is trading coal for woody biomass, burying carbon to become the world’s first “carbon negative” power source.
Now, with the help of North American forests, Drax – the UK’s largest power plant, is investing billions in producing bioenergy with carbon capture and storage – known as BECCS. As reported in the Wall Street Journal (WJS), Drax plans to use low-value thinnings and biomass from Southern Yellow Pine timber plantations, which grow extensively across the American South, to create 24/7 renewable energy sources—crucial to meet surging demand for artificial intelligence and data centres.
“Drax’s subsidiary Elimini, which is headquartered in Houston, is studying 20 potential locations across the South,” according to the WSJ, “with plans to finalize the first site by 2025 and begin operations by 2030.”
Already, Drax has partnered with two of the largest US timberland managers—Molpus Woodlands Group and Manulife Investment Management (previously known as Hancock Natural Resource Group)—to secure a steady supply of wood from sustainably managed pine plantations. “These partnerships provide new markets for timber growers affected by the closure of pulp mills and the declining demand for smaller logs, which previously had limited market outlets,” according to coverage in the WSJ, which quoted sources connected to the deal.
Wood Central understands Drax plans to take a surplus supply of Southern Yellow Pine—where 40% more wood grows than harvested in pine plantations—to process low-value logs, tree tops, and crooked wood into biochar and biomass.
Why BECCS is a game changer for renewable energy
Earlier this year, Will Gardiner, Drax’s CEO, said BECCS could play “the critical role” in “delivering large-scale carbon removals,” adding that “BECCs offer the most cost-effective, straightforward, and efficient way to help countries meet climate targets.”
“It is very exciting (new) technology,” according to Jeremey Tomkinson from the UK National Non-Food Crops Centre, who, in 2015, spoke to New Scientist about the technology: “It means we can reduce the volume of C02 in the atmosphere.”
As it stands, Drax has exited from coal and has become the world’s second-largest producer of BECCS after burning its last lump of coal in 2021 and then retrofitting its 18 power cylinders to take woody residues as feedstock. To feed the furnaces, it has acquired 18 mills at last count across the US and Canada, turning logs cut from local pine forests into five million-plus tons of compressed pellets before shipping them back to the UK from the Port of Prince Rupert (Vancouver), the Port of Baton Rouge (Louisiana) and the Port of Mobile (Alabama).
- To find out how Drax’s is using woody biomass to pivot from coal to green energy, click here for Wood Central’s special feature.
