Monday, January 8, 2024

Coal Power Station Drax To Win Approval For Net Zero Carbon Capture Plan

 Drax, once the UK's dirtiest coal-fired power station, is set to stoke renewed controversy as ministers prepare to approve a multibillion-pound CO2 capture scheme it claims would make it "Carbon negative".

The scheme has infuriated greens already angered by Drax's switch from coal to wood - burning eight million tonnes last year alone.

Next week Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho is expected to secure Drax's future by approving a scheme to bolt two massive carbon capture plants onto Drax's four generating units, potentially stripping out almost all their CO2 emissions.

Drax claims the scheme will allow it to remove more CO2 from the atmosphere than it produces - making it the world's first carbon negative thermal power station.

Schemes like Drax's, known as bioenergy with carbon capture and storage, or Beccs, are highly controversial - green groups argue that cutting down forests to generate electricity destroys the environment rather than protecting it.

If the CO2 from burning wood is captured and permanently buried underground, as Drax proposes, then the process actually removes CO2 from the atmosphere permanently.

We already know that Carbon Capture plants require a lot of energy to work, meaning that much of Drax's electricity will be wasted in the process.

https://wattsupwiththat.com/2024/01/07/coal-power-station-drax-to-win-approval-for-net-zero-carbon-capture-plan/

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