Biofuelwatch has been campaigning against Drax's biomass business ever since the company started converting coal power units to burning wood pellets instead of shutting them down. A big focus of ours has been on the subsidies that make Drax's polluting, harmful business possible.
Drax is the world’s latest biomass power station in Yorkshire. It burned over 7,000,000 tonnes of wood in 2025, which only supplies 5% of UK power. This is subsidised annually up to £999,000,000 of tax payers money as a “renewable” source of energy - but here’s the reality
- Carbon accounting errors: Current UN greenhouse gas accounting counts burning wood pellets as zero-carbon, or balanced - because harvested trees should regrow. This is a catastrophic false calculation as ancient trees take centuries to recapture the carbon released instantly during combustion, and forests may never fully recover.
- Higher emissions than coal: Per unit of electricity generated, burning wood actually releases more harmful, climate-changing CO2 into the air - and provides less energy. Drax is the UK’s largest greenhouse gas emitter, releasing 14,000,000 tonnes of CO2.
- Massive resource demands: For the millions of tonnes of wood pellets Drax burns, vast expanses of land are needed - producing meagre energy relative to the destruction of forests and land they cause.
- Ancient forest destruction: Drax claims the wood is residual. Biofuelwatch and BBC Panorama repeatedly expose the company logging ancient forests in the US, and Europe.
- Dangerous health impacts: Drax has 5 pellet plants in USA and 9 in Canada where it's toxic pollutants are severely impacting the health of local, marginalised communities.
How to take action
Instead of funnelling public money into Drax — the UK’s biggest carbon emitter — the Government should be investing in genuine climate solutions. Funding home insulation, wind, and solar power would not only help tackle the climate emergency but also create new green jobs and ease the cost of living crisis.
To stay informed about future events and e-actions or petitions regarding Drax and to get involved in the campaign:
- Sign up to the Biofuelwatch newsletter for campaign updates and opportunities to take action.
- Join the Stop Burning Trees Coalition to get involved in local and online efforts to stop Drax’s destructive practices.
Together, we can redirect public funding toward a cleaner, fairer energy future.