Drax power station
{{#Badges: CoalSwarm|Navbar-UnitedKingdomandcoal}}Drax Power Station is the United Kingdom's largest coal-fired power plant and the second largest coal plant in Europe, located in Northern England. It is being converted to biomass, and a carbon capture and storage project is proposed at the site.
Contents
Location
The undated satellite photo below shows the power station near Selby, North Yorkshire.
Background on existing power station
The Drax power station has six 660 MW generating units, and a maximum capacity of 3,945 MW, producing around 24 Terawatt-hours (TWh) annually[1] -- making it the largest coal power station in the UK.[2]
Drax employs over 700 people and provides about 7% of Britain's electrical power demand.[3][4]
The six units are served by independent wet limestone-gypsum flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) plant, which removes at least 90% of the sulphur dioxide from the flue gases. The station's chimney is the tallest in the UK.[5] The station has a maximum potential consumption of 36,000 metric tons (tonnes) of coal a day, and uses between 7,000,000 and 11,000,000 metric tons annually. Coal is partly supplied by nearby Kellingley Colliery, with the bulk coming from Poland. The Drax station generates around 1,500,000 of ash and 22,800,000 of carbon dioxide each year.[6]
Converting to biomass
In February 2012, Drax said it was scrapping plans to build two biomass plants in the UK with Germany's Siemens. The company said a lack of financial help from the government was the driving force behind the decision, which involved an investment of around £1.4bn.
Drax has also shelved plans to build a second plant at another UK site, but is exploring options to develop a biomass facility with Siemens at the Immingham Port on the River Humber.[7]
In 2014 it was reported that Drax is in the process of converting from coal to biomass, and by 2016 is expecting to generate half its power from wood pellets.[8]
Nonviolent direct action against Drax
On the morning of June 13, 2008, 40 Camp for Climate Action activists, a small number disguised as railway workers, flagged down and stopped a coal train on its way to Drax Power Station. Protesters climbed onto the train and unloaded almost 20 tons of coal onto the tracks[9] while others chained themselves to the train. A banner was unfurled reading 'Leave it in the Ground!'. Riot police stormed the train and removed the protesters around midnight. 29 were arrested[10].
White Rose CCS Project
The White Rose CCS Project is a proposed 426 MW coal-fired power station with carbon capture and storage. In February 2011 a consortium of Alstom UK Ltd, Drax Power Limited and National Grid announced that they were seeking EU NER300 funding for a new oxy-fired CCS demonstration project based at the site of the existing Drax Power Station.
The initial press release stated that National Grid, "together with an experienced offshore partner, will develop a transportation system out to the southern North Sea where the CO2 will be permanently stored."[11]
In late October 2012 the Department of Energy and Climate Change announced that the project had been short-listed as one of four bidders "for the next phase of the UK’s £1bn Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) competition."[12]
In April 2014 the European Commission confirmed that the White Rose CCS project was in line to receive a 300m-euro boost from the EU, expected in June 2014.[8]
In July 2014 the project was awarded "up to €300 million" from the European Union NER300 programme. The media release announcing the decision stated that the new coal fired power station "will burn coal with the potential to co-fire sustainable biomass."[13]
Project Details of proposed CCS power station
- Sponsor: Capture Power Limited[14]
- Parent company: Alstom, Drax Power Limited, and National Grid
- Developer: Alstom (power plant and CO2 processing), BOC (air separation unit)[14]
- Location: Selby, North Yorkshire, UK
- Coordinates: 53.735833,-0.996389 (exact)
- Status: Pre-permit development
- Capacity: 426 MW
- Type: Oxyfuel, Carbon capture and storage
- Start date:
- Coal Type: Hard coal
- Coal Source:
- Source of financing: European Union
Articles and Resources
Sources
- ↑ Drax Group website
- ↑ Richard Wachman, "Drax scraps plans for UK biomass plants," The Guardian, Feb. 21, 2012.
- ↑ Drax flue gas stack
- ↑ Drax Group website
- ↑ Drax flue gas stack
- ↑ Drax Group website
- ↑ Richard Wachman, "Drax scraps plans for UK biomass plants," The Guardian, Feb. 21, 2012.
- ↑ Jump up to: 8.0 8.1 Matt McGrath, "EU green light for UK carbon capture and storage project," BBC, Apr 17, 2014.
- ↑ "Coal train ambushed near power station in climate change protest", The Guardian, June 14, 2008.
- ↑ "Police arrest 29 coal train protesters", Reuters UK, June 14, 2008.
- ↑ Alstom, "Alstom confirms joint application for CCS project funding", Media Release, February 10, 2011.
- ↑ Department of Energy and Climate Change, "Short list for UK’s £1bn CCS competition announced", Media Release, October 30, 2012.
- ↑ "White Rose CCS Project secures award decision on European NER300 funding", Media Release, July 8, 2014.
- ↑ Jump up to: 14.0 14.1 "About White Rose," Capture Power, accessed July 2014
Related SourceWatch Articles
External Articles
Wikipedia also has an article on Drax power station. This article may use content from the Wikipedia article under the terms of the GFDL.
