Drax power station, near Selby in North Yorkshire, produces about 8% of the UK’s electricity. This is enough to power any major city outside London, such as Leeds or Birmingham. The photograph gives some idea of its size. It has a perimeter fence of 18 km. It is one of the UK’s largest power stations and was once the biggest emitter of carbon dioxide due to its huge appetite for the dirtiest of fuels — coal.
The plant is undergoing a transformation to integrate sustainable biomass as a source of power. Two of Drax’s six generating units have already been converted, with a third being converted to burn a high percentage of biomass with some coal. When all three units are in operation, the station will save 12 million tonnes of carbon each year. Biomass overall generates 85% less carbon emission than coal because the carbon released during combustion is that which the trees absorbed during growth. Although all this needs a government subsidy it is much cheaper than establishing offshore wind farms.
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