The project to install technology to capture 8 million tons of CO2/year at the Drax power plant is raising many criticisms from experts and politicians .
Drax power station in Yorkshire. Photo: NS Energy
In a move that has drawn criticism from scientists and politicians, the British government has approved a project to install carbon capture technology at the country’s largest power plant. Under the plan, power producer Drax will install bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) technology in two of the four biomass fuel units at its Yorkshire power plant, The Next Web reported on January 18.
Drax switched from burning coal to burning biomass, mainly wood pellets, in 2019. Drax Power Station generates around 4% of the UK’s electricity, mostly burning wood imported from North America. Despite the conversion efforts, the plant is still considered the country’s largest emitter of CO2, according to the non-profit Ember.
However, Drax says its power plant has no climate impact because emissions from burning wood are offset by CO2 absorbed by trees growing back at the site of logging. By adding BECCS, Drax will become the world ’s first carbon-neutral power plant and the world’s largest carbon capture plant. Drax cites research from independent consultancy Baringa, which shows the plant will remove 8 million tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere each year. Drax’s carbon capture system will be installed by 2030.
BECCS is essentially like putting a giant cap on a power plant, collecting its emissions and storing them underground in liquid form. Under the approved plan, after the pellets are burned to produce electricity, the gas containing carbon dioxide would be cooled and treated before being passed through an absorption tower to remove the greenhouse gas.
Inside this absorption tower, the cooled and treated gas undergoes a chemical reaction using an amine, a compound of ammonia, as a solvent. The resulting compound is heated again to produce pure carbon dioxide, which can be transported via pipeline for storage under the North Sea.
The entire project is expected to cost $2.54 billion, with the majority of it being funded by the UK government. Drax claims the upgrade will make its plant the world’s largest carbon capture facility. However, BECCS has never been deployed on such a large scale, leading to doubts about its reliability as a renewable energy source. Three MPs have criticised plans to continue subsidising Drax. Peter Bottomley, MP, said the government should focus on increasing tree cover and supporting wind, solar and nuclear power.
A 2018 study by MIT scientist John David Sterman found that it would take 100 years for plants to absorb the same amount of carbon as a biomass plant releases. Meanwhile, all that carbon would remain in the atmosphere, exacerbating the problem of climate change.
An Khang (According to The Next Web )
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