WBapr21pgs_SS.qxp_Wood Bioenergy Magazine 3/19/21 3:24 PM Page 8
■ in the news Drax Group Pushes Through 2020 UK electricity producer Drax Group reports it has reduced its carbon emissions by more than 85% since 2012, while becoming the UK’s largest renewable energy generator and has an ambition to become a carbon negative company by 2030. Those statements were made as part of Drax’s annual report for 2020, a year in which it persevered through the dangers and constraints of COVID-19. Drax announced an end to commercial coal generation effective in March 2021 while continuing to develop options for Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS), which Drax believes can become a world leading, UKled and exportable solution for large-scale carbon negative power generation. Subject to the right negative emissions framework from the UK Government, Drax expects to be in a position to make further investment in the development of this option in 2021. Drax, whose recently announced purchase of major Canadian-based industrial wood pellet producer Pinnacle is moving through required approvals, says Drax’s three pellet plants in the U.S. produced 1.5 million tonnes in 2020, an increase of 7%, which reflects a strong operational performance and good fiber availability compared to 2019 when heavy rainfall restricted commercial forestry activity. Pellet quality, as measured by the level of fines in each cargo, improved in 2020. Lower levels of fines result in biomass that is easier and safer to handle throughout the supply chain and as such there are safety, operational and cost benefits in reducing the level of fines. Drax identified supply chain improvements, efficiencies and investments, which it believes will reduce the cost of biomass by $35/tonne
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(£13/MWh) on its existing portfolio by 2022 compared to 2018. In 2020 this program alongside increased output and other incremental operational improvements resulted in an average production cost of $153/ tonne, a 5% saving year-on-year. It expects to deliver further savings by expanding its three existing pellet production sites in the Southeast U.S. by 0.4Mt. At the end of 2020 it completed the first phase of these with the remaining capacity of 0.3Mt expected to come on stream by 2022. Realizing these programs will expand total capacity to 1.9Mt at the three Drax facilities, providing economies of scale and allowing greater utilization of low-cost residues. In February 2020 Drax announced plans to further expand its existing infrastructure with the development of three new 40,000 tonne satellite plants. These sites will use lower cost sawmill residues and leverage existing infrastructure in the U.S. Southeast to produce biomass at around 20% below the current cost of production. The acquisition of Pinnacle accelerates the Group’s strategic objectives by adding 2.9Mt of biomass production capacity in 2022, and includes long-term third-party supply contracts to counterparties in Asia and Europe. Drax says the end of commercial coal operations in March 2021, and final closure of the generating units in September 2022, is expected to result in annual cost savings of £30-35 million once complete. Drax believes this will help to support the financial model for long-term biomass generation at Drax Power Station when the current renewable subsidy schemes end in March 2027. The UK’s Climate Change Committee (CCC) has set out what is required for the country to achieve its legally binding objective of being net zero by 2050. This includes an important role for BECCS to remove carbon from the atmosphere, creating negative emissions.
BECCS is the only large-scale solution for negative emissions with renewable electricity and system support capabilities. Through combining BECCS with its existing biomass generation units at Drax Power Station, Drax believes it could remove millions of tonnes of carbon each year in 2027. In doing so Drax aims to become a carbon negative company by 2030. The technology to deliver postcombustion BECCS exists and is proven at scale, according to Drax, which adds that in September 2020 Drax commenced a trial of one such technology provided by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. In addition, Drax is developing innovative technology options, including CCapture, a partnership with Leeds University, IP Group and BP, which has developed an organic solvent which could be used for BECCS. The Group’s biomass life cycle carbon emissions in 2020 were 109kgCO2e/MWh of electricity (2019: 124 kgCO2e/MWh), almost half the UK Government’s 200kgCO2e/MWh of electricity limit for biomass.
Drax Sets Sights On Carbon Capture Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) is an essential negative emissions technology needed for the UK to meet its legally binding net zero by 2050 target and demonstrate global climate leadership, according to UK power generator Drax Group. Work to build BECCS could get under way at Drax as soon as 2024, creating tens of thousands of jobs and supporting a postcovid economic recovery. By 2027 Drax says its first BECCS unit could be operational, delivering the UK’s largest carbon capture project and permanently removing millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year. Drax is set to kickstart the planning process for its proposals to
Wood Bioenergy / April 2021
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