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The Biomass Dome at Drax Power Station Published on the 15 July 2013 I am proud to have two of the country’s largest power stations in my constituency. Between them, Drax and Eggborough produce as much as 11 per cent of the UK’s electricity as well as being significant employers. Traditionally each of these power stations is coal-fired, although both have been “co-firing” biomass with coal for a number of years. Biomass is generally pelletised wood thinnings and offcuts, although it can also come in the form of energy crops like miscanthus, or agricultural by-products like straw. Co-firing biomass has resulted in significant carbon reductions over the years, and has also meant that Drax and Eggborough have both become significant generators of renewable energy. As a result of improved Government support which will allow the UK to benefit fully from biomass as an energy source, Drax and Eggborough have recently begun transitioning away from coal, in order to use more biomass in the years ahead. However, coal still has a very important part to play in the energy mix – particularly as carbon capture and storage is being developed, and again, thanks to this Government’s support, Drax is a key player in moving this important project forward. The shift to biomass is good news for Britain. As a result of various EU rules, taxes and other factors, the UK is going to lose around 12 gigawatts of its generating capacity by 2016 – in layman’s terms that’s enough electricity to power nearly 20 million homes. This generation gap will ultimately be filled by new gas, nuclear and other renewables – but it needs to be bridged in the meantime. Biomass has a key role to play in bridging that gap and keeping the lights on in Britain. Biomass is also great news for my Selby and Ainsty constituency, and for Yorkshire as a whole. It means that two key power stations have a more secure future and thousands of jobs have been safeguarded, as well as lots of new jobs being created. . The use of biomass for power has also resulted in significant investment in the UK’s ports and railways, again creating more new jobs. Significant investment is leading to massive upgrades at a number of ports including the Port of Hull, and the Port of Grimsby and Immingham. Similarly, rail is the only viable way to transport biomass in the UK and significant investment is already being made in the UK’s railways to reflect this. Despite all the positives, some are opposed to using biomass for power. Some environmental groups believe that burning biomass for power will produce higher CO2 emissions than coal. Others have pointed out that much of the UK’s biomass will be imported from America, and have used this as a basis for suggesting the biomass cannot be sustainable, and that its use promotes energy insecurity. These critics are simply wrong. I know that Drax rigorously measures the carbon footprint of the biomass it uses over its full life cycle from forest to furnace. This means that emissions from harvesting, processing and transportation right to the point of burning biomass pellets to generate electricity are taken into account. Alongside this clinical carbon accounting, they have also pioneered sustainability criteria and advocates mandatory criteria for the entire biomass industry. This ensures that the biomass used at Drax and Eggborough is sustainable. As a result, contrary to what its opponents say, last year, the average emissions saving over the full life cycle of burning sustainable biomass instead of coal was above 80 per cent. To those who suggest that importing biomass promotes energy insecurity, I would merely remind them that currently, all of the coal used by Eggborough, and around half the coal used by Drax is already imported from overseas. We should be honest: biomass is not a non carbon renewable; it’s a low carbon renewable. But whether its opponents like it or not, biomass is going to play a key role as part of Britain’s energy mix in the years ahead. Converting existing power stations to burn biomass is an extremely cost effective way to generate renewable power. Not only that, it allows for reliable, predictable and dispatchable generation, and has considerable advantages over less reliable technologies, like onshore windfarms, by virtue of it not being entirely dependent on the vagaries of the British weather. In short, biomass is going to be extremely important in keeping the lights on in Britain over the next few years and it will be a significant player in retaining and creating thousands of skilled jobs. Once Drax has converted three of its six generating units, its carbon footprint will be halved on today’s levels. Additionally, the UK’s largest single emitter of carbon will become one of the world’s largest renewable electricity generators and when Eggborough converts, I’ll be proud to say that my constituency in Yorkshire will become Europe’s leader in generating electricity from renewable sources. Continue reading →