Virtual protest held over Drax power station biomass

Drax says its biomass comes from working forests which grow back and stay as forests

An online protest against the burning of biomass by one of the UK's largest power stations has been held.

Biofuelwatch claims Drax, near Selby, North Yorkshire, is the UK's largest emitter of carbon dioxide.

The group asked supporters to put images and videos of trees online as restrictions due to coronavirus mean they can not demonstrate in person.

Drax says the biomass it uses is sustainably sourced and it aims to become carbon negative by 2030.

Frances Howe, from Biofuelwatch, said: "Today's action aims to expose and denounce Drax's destructive wood burning, and to call for the public money received by Drax to be redirected to genuinely lower carbon cleaner energy."

The group claim many of the wood pellets Drax burns come from the southern United States, where forests are being destroyed and replaced with tree plantations.

"Taking action online is the next best thing we can do in the absence of being able to come together to protest against Drax and fight for environmental justice in real life," Frances Howe added.

Drax confirmed in February it intended to end commercial coal generation in March 2021.

"The climate crisis is one of the most important challenges of our time and Drax is committed to supporting the UK's net zero target," a company spokesperson said.

"Drax was the first company in the world to announce an ambition to be carbon negative by 2030, using bioenergy with carbon capture and storage to deliver millions of tonnes of negative emissions each year.

"Drax's biomass complies with, and in many cases goes beyond, the stringent standards set by the EU and British regulator Ofgem," the company added.