The think tank Ember says the power station was responsible for emitting four-times more such emissions than the UK’s last surviving coal-fired power station in 2023.
However, Drax says the research is ‘flawed’, also noting the wood chips it uses, comes from trees which soak up carbon dioxide as they grow.
Drax has received £22bn in subsidies overall, including more than £500-million in clean energy subsidies in 2023.
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The Selby-based plant, which burns wood pellets imported from North America to generate electricity, began switching from coal to biomass in 2012.
Ember says Drax was responsible for 11.5m tonnes of CO2 last year, or nearly 3% of the UK’s total carbon emissions.
Drax produced four times more carbon dioxide than the UK’s last surviving coal-fired power station at Ratcliffe-on-Soar in Nottinghamshire, which is set to close in September.
Ember’s report, which uses data from the government’s UK Emissions Trading Scheme registry and company annual reports, says Drax also produced more emissions last year than the next four most polluting power plants in the UK combined.
UK climate analyst at Ember Frankie Mayo said: “Although it is the recipient of public funding earmarked for low-carbon projects, Drax remains the largest single source of CO2 in the country.”
He added: “Unfortunately, the assumed carbon savings from biomass is far from guaranteed. There is a mounting body of evidence and expert opinion that this assumption is critically flawed and must be overturned.”
Since 2012, Drax has claimed almost £7bn from British energy bills to support its biomass generation, even though the think tank and many scientists say burning wood pellets for power generation releases more emissions for each unit of electricity generated than burning gas or coal.
Last month, Drax announced profits of £463million over the first half of this year, fuelled by biomass subsidies of almost £400m over this period. It handed its shareholders some £300million for the same period.
However a Drax spokesperson said: “This is another flawed report from Ember which chooses to ignore the widely accepted and internationally recognised approach to carbon accounting.
“As a result, its conclusions are at odds with what the world’s leading climate scientists at the UN IPCC say about sustainable biomass and also Ember’s own analysis which relies on a significant contribution from Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage technology in modelling a clean power system by 2030.
“Drax Power Station generates around 8% of the UK’s renewable electricity, keeping the lights on for millions of homes and businesses. We are paid for the power we produce like every other renewable generator.
“We plan to invest billions in developing two BECCS units at Drax Power Station which could create up to 10,000 new jobs at the peak of construction. The technology that underpins BECCS is proven, and it is the only credible large-scale way of generating secure renewable power and delivering carbon removals.”
