Lets ask the question; “Is Biomass a sustainable fuel” ?
There is a good biomass case study right on our doorstep here in Yorkshire. Drax power station.
Drax was responsible for three per cent of the UKs total carbon emissions last year.
Our last coal fired power station at Ratcliffe on Soar was responsible for a quarter of that.
Frankie Mayo, an analyst at Ember, said: “Burning wood pellets can be as bad for the environment as coal; supporting biomass with subsidies is a costly mistake.”
Fact – burning wood pellets for power generation releases more emissions for each unit of electricity generated than burning gas or coal
There are some biomass articles in our Document Library relating to Drax:
Biomass Fuel – Q and A
Question
Where do the Drax biomass wood pellets come from?
Answer
North America and Canada, a little from the UK
Conclusion
How much Carbon Dioxide does Drax produce each year?
Drax directly produces 11.5 million tonnes of Carbon Dioxide per year.
This figure does not include the millions of tonnes of CO2 released by felling the forests. It certainly does not include the CO2 generated building the MV Ultra Yorkshire whose sole purpose in transporting pellets from North America to the UK. Not sustainable!
How much of the electricity used in the UK does Drax produce?
Drax produces 6% of the UK electricity demand.
The jury is out. However if we spent the subsidy on home insulation we might not need the 6% of electricity produced from Drax.