Drax claimed record £999m in subsidies for burning trees in 2025, thinktank says

Drax received nearly £1bn in green subsidies last year for biomass power, as debate intensifies over the sustainability and cost of burning wood pellets. | Contesto: cronaca

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• Drax claimed record £999m in subsidies for burning trees in 2025, thinktank says

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The owner of the Drax power station in North Yorkshire was paid a record £999 million in government subsidies in 2025 for generating electricity by burning wood pellets, according to analysis by the climate thinktank Ember. The payments, made under renewable energy support schemes, were for producing approximately 4.5% of Great Britain's total electricity supply from its converted biomass units last year. The cost of these subsidies added an estimated £13 to the average household energy bill over the same period. The £999 million figure marks a new annual high for subsidies directed to the plant's biomass operations and contributes to a staggering total of roughly £8.7 billion in renewable energy subsidies Drax has received since 2012. This financial support is channeled through mechanisms like the Contracts for Difference (CfD) and the legacy Renewables Obligation schemes, which are designed to incentivize low-carbon electricity generation. The substantial public funding underscores the central role biomass has played in the UK's strategy to phase out coal and meet interim climate targets, with Drax having converted several of its former coal-fired units to burn compressed wood pellets, primarily imported from North America. However, the enormous subsidy payments are fueling a fierce and ongoing controversy over the environmental credentials of large-scale biomass energy. Critics, including numerous scientists and environmental groups, argue that classifying the burning of forest-derived wood pellets as carbon-neutral is a flawed accounting error. They contend that the emissions released at the smokestack are not instantly re-absorbed by regrowing trees, creating a "carbon debt" that can take decades or even centuries to repay, if ever. Furthermore, investigations by NGOs have repeatedly raised alarms about the sourcing of pellets, alleging that primary, biodiverse forests in Canada and the southeastern United States are being clear-cut to feed Drax's supply chain, despite company assurances of sustainability. Drax maintains that its biomass operations are sustainable, legally compliant, and critical for grid stability, providing reliable, dispatchable power...

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Categoria: cronaca