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Environmentalists have raised concerns over news that wood-burning power station Drax will continue to receive subsidies but welcomed a reduction in payments.
The Government has announced that from 2027, when the existing payments for the North Yorkshire biomass power plant are due to run out, a new support scheme will come into effect until 2031 which reduces electricity generation, halves subsidies and imposes new sustainability requirements.
Ministers also said unabated biomass is not a long-term solution, and they are reviewing the role biomass fitted with technology to capture and store carbon emissions could play in cutting UK climate pollution to net zero by 2050.
Campaigners have long questioned the role of biomass in cutting carbon emissions and accused Drax of sourcing the wood pellets used in its plant from environmentally important forests, although the company has said it is confident its biomass is sustainable and legally harvested.
Responding to the announcement, Clare Oxborrow, nature campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said that at a time when funding is being cut or curtailed in many areas, “it’s disappointing that the UK’s biggest carbon emitter is being given yet more public money at a cost to people and the environment”.
“However, this decision represents a significant roll-back of government support for Drax, with its funding slashed by half and the introduction of much tighter sustainability requirements,” she said.
But she added: “Given the net zero economy is the UK’s fastest growing sector, cash would be better spent transitioning workers out of polluting jobs into the sustainable, clean industries of the future – this is good for our economy, communities and our ailing planet.”
Rick Parfett, senior policy adviser on climate at WWF-UK, said: “Forests are crucial to preventing climate breakdown by storing carbon, so burning trees for energy will never make sense.
“The Government’s statement that this isn’t a long-term solution and their commitment to putting in place credible low-carbon alternatives are welcome.
“But it’s deeply concerning to see taxpayer money continuing to flow to the UK’s single largest polluter when we know we can decarbonise the power sector without it.”
He called for stiff penalties for non-compliance and regulators who are fully empowered to hold the company to account, adding that the Government should focus on rolling out “genuine renewables” and insulating homes to cut carbon and bills.