Drax Power Station generated its first watt of electricity half a century ago, in 1974. Then, like now, energy security was a hot topic. The 1970s oil crisis was in full flow – because oil from the Middle East wasn’t – and the country was searching for ways to boost its energy independence.
The North Sea oil and gas boom followed, and by the early 1980s the UKhad become a net energy exporter.
Today our North Sea fields are being looked at through a different lens – as potential storage sites for captured CO2 from energy generation and industry.
The storage opportunity is huge. The UK is estimated to have 25 per cent of Europe’s geological storage for captured carbon. This, plus a leading skills base in offshore industries, is giving the UK competitive advantage in carbon capture and storage, and the real prospect of becoming a world leader in next generation bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (Beccs).
This is where Drax is looking to for the next 50 years. Drax is the largest power station in the country, providing power for 4 million homes. Over the next six years, it could become the world’s first power station to convert to Beccs. This is the only technology that can generate renewable power while simultaneously removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
This dual functionality places Beccs at the heart of the UK’s 2030 clean energy grid and net zero strategy targets. National Grid’s Future Energy Scenarios all account for millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide being removed from the atmosphere by Beccs from 2030.
The system works by capturing and storing CO2 generated during the production of electricity from sustainably sourced biomass – that’s organic matter, including wood waste, forest residues and plant material, in the form of pellets, sourced predominately from North America. In Drax’s case, captured CO2 will then be transported out to the North Sea for permanent storage.
This January, Drax was granted planning approval by the Secretary of State for its Beccs plan, which could capture up to 8 million tonnes of CO2 per year – equivalent to cancelling all annual departing flights from Heathrow.
Drax plans to have Beccs up and running by 2030, creating and supporting up to 10,000 jobs during construction. This is likely to be critical for the delivery of the government’s clean energy mission, as well as providing a major catalyst for regional growth in Yorkshire and the Humber.
While 2030 may seem a long way away, in the world of engineering and construction, it is tomorrow – particularly for a project of this size, scale and ambition. Government commitment to Beccs is needed soon to support its development.
“Drax is an integral part of the Humber industrial cluster,” says Richard Gwilliam, UK Beccs programme director at Drax. “From a decarbonisation perspective, it’s the most important industrial cluster in the UK.
“The Humber is to energy what the City of London is to finance. It has strategic importance for UK energy security, generating around 20 per cent of our power. Transforming the region with carbon capture and storage and Beccs, preparing it for a decarbonised energy system, is essential for its future and will help the government deliver its missions on clean energy and economic growth.”
Beccs is just Drax’s latest transformation from its fossil fuelled past. When Drax Power Station was first commissioned, it represented the cutting edge of coal power technology. Following expansion in the early 1980s, it became the largest coal-fired power station in Western Europe. But between 2013 and 2018, Drax converted four of six generating units to use biomass instead of coal, becoming the largest decarbonisation project in Europe and reducing its carbon emissions by 99 per cent. In 2023, Drax closed all remaining coal operations.
Today, as well as generating enough power for four million homes, Drax sits on an essential line between the energy demand centres in the south and the generators in the north. Its ability to ramp output up and down to balance out intermittent supply from wind and solar makes it essential for energy stability.
Drax is eyeing expansion internationally, capitalising on what McKinsey predicts could be a $1.2trn industry for carbon removal technologies by 2050. Earlier this year, it announced plans for a new US-based business to oversee our global expansion plans. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, it will oversee the development and construction of new-build Beccs plants in the US and elsewhere, building on knowledge that makes the UK a world-leader in the industry.
“We’ve been keeping the lights on for 50 years,” says Bruce Heppenstall, Drax plant director. “That’s a major milestone for us and gives me huge pride in our heritage and what we’ve done to still be here. It’s also exciting to think about what the future holds. Drax is a story of innovation, and our next transformation with Beccs could arguably be our most important yet.
“The project could lead the way in helping the UK emerge as a genuine world leader in a technology that is going to be essential to avoid the global climate crisis and hit net zero goals.”
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