A major environmental controversy has erupted over UK energy company Drax's continued practice of burning wood pellets from Canadian forests, including trees over 250 years old, while receiving substantial government subsidies designated for green energy.
The Biomass Debate Intensifies
Recent investigations have revealed that Drax, which operates Britain's largest power station, sourced 19% of its Canadian fibre from forest residues including low-grade roundwood in 2024. The company maintains that 81% of its material comes from sawdust and sawmill residues generated during lumber production for construction.
Miguel Veiga-Pestana, Drax's Chief Sustainability Officer, defended the company's practices, stating they don't own forests or decide harvesting areas. He argued that without biomass companies using this harvest residue, the material would typically be burned on-site to reduce wildfire risks.
Environmental Organisations Push Back
Environmental groups including Stand.earth and NRDC have strongly criticised both Drax and UK government policy. Matt Williams, Senior Forest Advocate for NRDC, highlighted the irony of the UK signing new contracts worth billions in subsidies to Drax while claiming environmental leadership.
Williams emphasised that burning millions of tonnes of trees annually cannot be considered a credible climate solution, as it simply shifts emissions and environmental destruction to other countries.
Forest Management Versus Preservation
The debate has exposed fundamental disagreements about forest management. Drax points to wildfires in unmanaged forests like the one in Jasper, Alberta that caused $880 million in damages and released significant CO2 emissions.
However, environmental advocates counter that leaving forests unmanaged is not equivalent to preservation and that true conservation requires protecting ecosystems from industrial harvesting, even when followed by replanting requirements.
British Columbia's regulations, developed with Indigenous First Nations, require harvested public lands to be reforested to free-growing condition. Drax maintains that none of their fibre comes from designated old growth management areas.
UK's Environmental Leadership Questioned
The situation presents a significant challenge to the UK's environmental credentials. Having hosted COP26 in 2021 and championed forest protection, the government now faces accusations of hypocrisy for continuing to fund forest destruction through biomass subsidies.
As Williams noted, public money should restore and preserve forests rather than reward their destruction under the guise of green energy. The controversy raises fundamental questions about what constitutes genuine renewable energy and whether biomass burning deserves its current classification and subsidy support.
