The U.K. government on Jan. 16 approved plans for Drax Power Ltd.’s proposed bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) project that will capture carbon dioxide emissions from up to two existing biomass units at Drax Power Station.&nbsp;Drax in May 2022 submitted an application for the BECCS project to the U.K. Planning Inspectorate, a government agency that deals with national infrastructure planning applications. Following a public consultation, the Planning Inspectorate in October 2023 delivered its recommendations to the government. The U.K. Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero on Jan. 16 officially granted the project approval, issuing a development consent order (DCO).Drax said the DCO is a milestone for the BECCS project, providing planning consent for its development. The approved project includes the construction, operation and maintenance of post-combustion capture technology on Units 1 and 2 of Drax Power station.&nbsp;According to the DCO, the Examining Authority’s analysis shows that the proposed BECCS project “would make a meaningful contribution to meeting the urgent need for carbon capture storage (CCS) infrastructure to support the transition to Net Zero by 2050.” The document also indicates that the Examining Authority was satisfied of the ability of the project to achieve a 95 capture efficiency and “considered it was reasonable to treat the biomass combustion emissions as zero rated.” The agency concluded that over the life of the project, there would be negative greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to carbon captured in the operational phase. The U.K. Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero agrees with these assessments.&nbsp;“The DCO approval is another milestone in the development of our BECCS plans, and demonstrates both the continued role that Drax Power Station has in delivering U.K. energy security and the critical role it could have in delivering large-scale carbon dioxide removals to meet Net Zero targets,” said Will Gardiner, CEO of Drax Group.“We look forward to working with our supply chain and other partners over the coming years on the project which, when fully operational, will deliver secure renewable power and approximately 8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide removals per year.“We welcome the ongoing development of policy support for BECCS and the anticipated launch of a consultation on a bridging mechanism for biomass generators to take them from the end of current renewable schemes through to BECCS operations,” Gardiner continued.&nbsp;Additional information is available on the U.K. government <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/drax-bioenergy-with-carbon-capture-and-storage-project-development-consent-decision-announced">website</a>.

2024-01-16 - UK government approves plans for Drax BECCS project (Biomass Magazine)

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The U.K. government on Jan. 16 approved plans for Drax Power Ltd.’s proposed bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) project that will capture carbon dioxide emissions from up to two existing biomass units at Drax Power Station. 

UK government approves plans for Drax BECCS project

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