The CEO of Drax Power Station believes that the “tight timeframe” given to decarbonise the UK will be the catalyst to “getting the planet to where it needs to be”.
Will Gardiner, who is leading the energy company through the process of cutting down on emissions, used a speaking slot at a Drax Power function last week to set out his hopes of reaching carbon-neutral and carbon-negative targets in the next two decades. During the event, Mr Gardiner noted the progress made by Drax through the Zero Carbon Humber scheme, as well as the companies’ progress on deploying bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS).
Speaking last week, the CEO said: “Eyebrows were raised when the UK set itself one of the most stretching timeframes in which to decarbonise, but, like many business leaders, I am firmly of the belief that this ambitious target will be the catalyst to deliver the innovative thinking needed to get the planet to where it needs to be. “I was delighted to learn that the Government has awarded the Zero Carbon Humber partnership £75million in funding to develop world-leading net-zero technologies. “Drax was one of the founder members of the Partnership, and its goal is to build the world’s first net-zero industrial cluster and decarbonise the North of England. “Along with the other members, we worked hard to secure this Government support, and it consists of money from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy’s Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge fund, with two-thirds coming from private backing. This financing is a vote of confidence from investors and highlights the Government’s commitment to developing the world’s first zero-carbon industrial cluster in the region. “Projects of this scale, backed with meaningful funding, are key to accelerating a range of technologies that will be essential to advancing decarbonisation. These include hydrogen production, carbon capture usage and storage (CCUS) and negative emissions through bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS).”
As well as individual projects that Drax have worked on, Mr Gardiner cited the work the company was doing with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Betchel when it comes to (BECCS). It’s hoped that by 2030, Drax will becoming a carbon negative company, and by that time, Drax Power Station could remove eight million tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere each year, according to the Drax CEO. He added: “In March 2021, Drax kickstarted the process to gain the necessary planning permissions called a Development Consent Order (DCO) from the Government. It’s a crucial administrative step towards delivering a BECCS unit as early as 2027 and a landmark moment in developing negative emissions in the UK. “Failure to implement negative emissions through BECCS could also be costly. Time is of the essence for the UK to reach net-zero by 2050, and research by energy consultancy Baringa, commissioned by Drax, highlights the economic cost of hesitation. “Findings showed that delaying BECCS from 2027 to 2030 could increase energy system costs by more than £4.5bn over the coming decade and over £5bn by the time the UK has to reach net zero. “BECCS offers great potential for the UK to export skills, knowledge and equipment to an international market. “To help establish this market, we are working with engineering and construction project management firm Bechtel to explore locations globally where there is the opportunity to deploy BECCS and identify how new-build BECCS plants can be optimised to deliver negative emissions for those regions.”
Drax Power CEO, Will Gardiner. (09-09-18 SU)
