National Audit Office is questioning sustainability of burning wood sources

Britain’s biggest renewable power station cannot prove it is burning wood from sustainable sources despite receiving billions of pounds in taxpayer handouts, the Government’s audit body has said.

The Drax plant in Selby, North Yorkshire, receives subsidies to help generate 6pc of Britain’s electricity, which it achieves by burning 7m tonnes of wood a year. The Telegraph has the story.

Drax has claimed that the wood is sourced sustainably, although the National Audit Office (NAO) has sought to question this: “The Government cannot demonstrate that its current arrangements are adequate to give it confidence that industry is meeting sustainability standards.”

Gareth Davies, head of the watchdog, said: “If biomass is going to play a key role in the transition to net zero, the Government needs to be confident that the industry is meeting high sustainability standards.

“However, the Government has been unable to demonstrate its current assurances are adequate to provide confidence in this regard,” Davies added.

The scrutiny follows last week’s triumph for Drax after Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho approved a scheme to bolt two carbon capture plants onto its four generating units, potentially stripping out almost all their CO2 emissions.

Drax claims the scheme will allow it to remove more CO2 from the atmosphere than it produces – making it the world’s first carbon-negative thermal power station.

Green activists claim it will destroy forests and cost consumers billions of pounds.

However, Drax’s sustainability claims are also under investigation by energy regulator Ofgem, which last May opened an enforcement case to examine how it was reporting the data used to calculate green subsidies.

Biomass power stations are currently subject to a consultation into the role of subsidies, with Ms Coutinho planning to extend the scheme until the 2030s.

Read the full story here.