'Four times emissions of coal plant' at biomass power station

The Drax power station was responsible for four times more carbon emissions than the UK's last remaining coal-fired plant last year - despite taking over half a billion pounds in clean-energy subsidies in 2023, according to a report.

- Jillian Ambrose

The North Yorkshire power plant, which burns wood pellets from north America to generate electricity, was revealed as Britain's single largest carbon emitter in 2023 by a report from the climate thinktank Ember.

The figures show Drax, which has received billions in subsidies since it began switching in 2012 from coal to biomass, was responsible for 11.5m tonnes of CO2 last year, or nearly 3% of the UK's total carbon emissions.