Drax abandons dedicated biomass plant at Selby
22/02/2012
 |
The Drax power station in Selby, North Yorkshire, the UK's largest power station
|
Coal-fired power station operator Drax is abandoning plans for a new dedicated biomass power plant at the UK’s largest power station, citing 'disappointing' support offered by government behind their decision.
The company had planned to use dedicated biomass technology at the coal-fired station in Selby, North Yorkshire, which supplies seven per cent of the UK's electricity.
But the firm has now abandoned these plans because of the lack of financial support and the high cost of transporting biomass inland from the continent, where most of the biomass would have originated.
The consultation on support given to biomass under the government's Renewables Obligation recently closed and proposed changes - reducing Renewables Obligation Certificates (RoCs) from 1.5 per MWh to 1.4 ROCs in 2016 - could have a major impact on the future direction of the biomass industry.
Drax Chief Executive Dorothy Thompson said: “We have expressed disappointment with the proposed level of support for this technology, which makes the investment case for the independent [biomass] generators highly challenging.
“The development planned for the Drax power station site has proved the most [problematic] for a number of reasons, including its inland location which increases logistics costs.”
Most of the electricity generated at Selby comes from coal, but a small amount comes from mixing this coal with biomass, known as co-firing.
Last year, the power station co-fired around 12.5 per cent of throughput, using 1.3 million tonnes of sustainably sourced biomass.
Under new proposals the government will offer increased support for co-firing using more than 15 per cent biomass, and Drax said they are considering more co-firing of biomass with coal.
They plan to invest £50million to upgrade their storage facilities allowing them to co-fire at least 20 per cent biomass.
The company also said they had not ruled out the possibility of building a new plant on the coast near Immingham, in North East Lincolnshire.
Add your response below to discuss this story or start a related discussion thread using our forum rooms: | 
