The Yorkshire Post has collaborated with Drax Group UK to celebrate Drax Power Station’s 50th anniversary with a series of short films.
Today the country’s largest power station explains its world-leading ambition for decarbonisation by deploying BECCS, bioenergy with carbon capture and storage - carbon removal from the atmosphere in the process of converting biomass into energy.
For more information visit https://www.drax.com
Today the country’s largest power station explains its world-leading ambition for decarbonisation by deploying BECCS, bioenergy with carbon capture and storage - carbon removal from the atmosphere in the process of converting biomass into energy.
For more information visit https://www.drax.com
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NewsTranscript
00:00and I think we're pioneering that at Drax Power Station.
00:27Fighting climate change is really an absolute necessity so that we can continue to inhabit
00:33and enjoy the planet that we've lived on for so many years.
00:38Drax Power Station used to be the largest coal-fired power station in Western Europe,
00:44providing secure, reliable power for the UK.
00:48But its role has changed as the needs of the UK energy system have changed and as our understanding
00:55of the need to decarbonise has changed too.
00:58So recognising the need to decarbonise, Drax converted to sustainable biomass.
01:03So we still provide secure power but now we're able to do that in a way that's sustainable.
01:10The way that we've converted this power station to operate from coal to biomass is a really
01:16important transition in technology and I think it's something that other coal-fired power
01:21stations around the world have looked at.
01:23But what's even more compelling and what's even more exciting is the journey that will
01:27go on after that, which is converting a biomass power station to one that can take CO2 out
01:32of the atmosphere.
01:34So Bioenergy Carbon Capture and Storage, or BECCS as we call it here at Drax, is actually
01:39where we capture the biogenic carbon dioxide that's coming off the flue gases and using
01:44a process there, we can actually concentrate that up, then put it into a pipeline where
01:50it can be then transported to depleted natural gas reserves under the North Sea, where it's
01:55locked away forever.
01:58The work that Drax does will drive the energy transition, not only for the Humber, but for
02:04the UK.
02:05For the UK, it's essential to decarbonise the Humber.
02:09We are the industrial cluster emitting the most CO2 by far.
02:13So without decarbonising Humber, then the UK will not reach net zero targets.
02:18And with the pioneering technology that we have now coming and emerging with Drax, working
02:25in carbon capture and storage, the Drax influence and the Drax progress means that the Humber
02:31as a whole will be at the forefront of the UK transition.
02:40So I've been working on trying to develop a carbon capture pipeline in Humber.
02:45This is critical technology that can help this really important industrial corridor
02:51decarbonise.
02:52And what I mean by that is, is a buried pipeline, a pipeline that will run in the first instance
02:57from Drax power station through the Humber region to the North Sea.
03:01And it will take CO2 emissions that we can capture here at the plant through the region
03:06and store them deep under the North Sea forever.
03:09Now, the really interesting thing about the Humber is that that pipeline from Drax to
03:14the coast will go past a number of other assets that are also looking at how they decarbonise
03:20their operations with carbon capture and storage.
03:23So this pipeline will provide a means for the whole region, particularly the industrial
03:27assets to decarbonise and have a role for this economy long into the future.
03:33At Drax, what we're going to be doing is removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
03:38And when we remove a tonne of CO2, we can convert that into a carbon credit.
03:43And those carbon credits are things that can be bought and sold on the market.
03:48So other corporates who want to decarbonise, they can look at their own carbon footprint
03:53and where they can see they've got remaining carbon emissions, they can buy a carbon credit
03:58to neutralise that carbon emission.
04:00So carbon markets are really effective ways of getting money into carbon removal projects.
04:07And at Drax, we want to be world leaders in setting the bar high, in setting high standards
04:14and developing standards that the rest of the industry globally can follow.
04:18And happily, Drax has real experts in carbon accounting that we can draw on so that we
04:23can develop these high integrity standards using the fabulous expertise that we've got
04:27in the company.
04:29Drax Power Station is an international decarbonisation beacon.
04:34We are at the forefront of fighting climate change and whilst there are many projects
04:39being proposed around the world that will prevent CO2 from entering the atmosphere or
04:44even help remove CO2 from the atmosphere, there's nowhere else globally that can remove
04:51as much CO2 from the atmosphere as Drax Power Station.
04:54So for the Humber, it puts us at the forefront and very importantly, the new technologies
04:59and the learnings here can then be replicated around the world.
05:04So what BEX does is that it really helps the Humber be seen as a testbed for the energy
05:10transition and going forward, that means that globally, we can reach net zero.
05:17This will put the UK at the centre of the global fight against climate change, helping
05:22to sustain our economy locally, having a critical national role, but showing the world that
05:28the UK is leading the way in keeping this planet in the state that we expect it to be.