British power generator Drax has announced it will pause its planned £2 billion (€2.26 billion) UK investment in bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) until it receives more clarity on government support.
Drax welcomed the UK government’s recent budget support for carbon capture and storage (CCS) but confirmed the company requires a firm commitment to BECCS before it could invest the cash to install the technology at its 2.6-gigawatt biomass power plant in Yorkshire, northern England.
The US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is offering $85 (€78) per tonne of stored greenhouse gas removal using BECCS while Britain has not yet established a market mechanism for the technology.
An existing subsidy scheme for biomass plants, which provide about 6% of the country’s electricity, runs out in 2027, which a Drax spokesperson said could make them unviable.
‘Until we have this clarity, we are pausing our multimillion-pound investment programme in the UK BECCS project,’ Drax CEO, Will Gardiner, says.
