Subsidies for the 2.6 GW biomass-fired Drax power plant in Yorkshire, England, are set to be extended beyond 2027, according to the Financial Times. The largest power station in the UK, Drax produces around 4% of the UK’s electricity, with the subsidies it receives introduced to cover the cost of converting the plant from firing coal to firing biomass.

Government ministers are preparing the extensions to ensure that Drax remains operating and can be further equipped with carbon capture units, making the plant a ‘negative’ emissions bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) flagship, while helping to provide baseload reliability in the grid. These modifications to the plant are not expected to be ready until 2030 at the earliest.

The biomass conversion of Drax has long been controversial because of arguments over the carbon cycle of growing, harvesting, transporting, and combusting biomass, and the negative impact on biodiversity.