Ofgem announced that it will investigate whether the owner of Great Britain’s biggest power plant, which is located in North Yorkshire, was in breach of the annual profiling reporting rules required for its renewable energy subsidy scheme, as the Guardian’s internet platform reports. The British energy regulator is expected to investigate the accuracy of Drax’s sustainability reports about the procurement of its wood pellets, 80% of which are imported from the US and Canada.
Drax has received billions in renewable energy subsidies for the generation of electricity from biomass. However, the company is facing growing criticism over its claims about its carbon neutrality and increasing scepticism over the sustainability of burning imported wood to generate electricity, as the Guardian reports.
Talking to theguardian.com, a spokesperson for Drax said the company was confident that its biomass was in compliance with the criteria defined in the renewable subsidy scheme.
Drax operates 17 pellet mills in the United Kingdom and North America in particular. In 2021, the group produced 3.1 million tons of wood pellets and is planning to raise its production capacity to 8 million tons a year. Since 2019, the joint-stock company received GBP 2.5 billion (€2.95 billion) in subsidies for its power plant which was previously powered by coal. These subsidies are set to expire in 2027.
