Environmental campaigners have mounted a demonstration on the campus of Sheffield University against the institution’s research partnership with Drax power station.
Drax, which is situated near Selby in North Yorkshire, used to be the UK’s largest coal-fired power station, and now runs on biomass, generating 10% of the UK’s renewable energy. But its claim that the plant is contributing positively to net-zero with its “innovation for bioenergy with carbon capture and storage”, has attracted a flurry of criticisms.
Greenwashing and climate colonialism
One accusation is that Drax is in fact guilty of greenwashing. Millions of tonnes of the wood pellets burned by Drax every year, say critics from the Axe Drax campaign group, are imported from protected forests in the US, British Columbia and Brazil. They also point to scientific evidence that shows that “burning wood is just as bad or worse than burning fossil fuels”.
An additional criticism is that the production of wood pellets for the Drax plant drives “environmental racism and climate colonialism”. The highly polluting production sites, situated for example in the southern US and Canada, are often located in low-income communities, while the destruction of trees leaves communities vulnerable to flooding.
As wood biomass is classified as carbon neutral and renewable, Drax is subsidised with what Axe Drax describes as “huge amounts of public subsidy”, some of which comes from the ‘green levy’ on energy bills. This, they say, is unwarranted, as Drax is anything but green. When Rachel Reeves announced new subsidies for the Drax plant from 2027 to 2031 at the Yorkshire Labour Party Conference in March, estimating a £2bn impact on bill payers, the Axe Drax group disrupted the conference and were forcibly removed.
The University of Sheffield and Drax’s relationship
Labelling the Drax company as focused on “renewable energy”, the University of Sheffield has partnered with the plant on their newly launched Energy Innovation Centre (EIC), hailing carbon capture as the centre of their research. Boeing, another founding member of the EIC also hails these same CO2 removal strategies as a goal. The university partnering with Drax directly contradicts its promise from 2020 to stop relying on electricity from non-renewable and “dirty” energy sources.
Both Drax and the university claim that performing carbon capture on Drax’s biomass energy production will result in “negative emissions”. However, the scientific community has warned that the carbon payback time of wood burning for power is far too slow to achieve the net-zero 2050 target, bumping global warming occurring for decades, to centuries.
Drax has also been found to be sourcing the wood for its pellet burning from at-risk ‘old growth’ forests, being fined £25mn by Ofgem for failing to accurately report data on the wood’s source. All of this prompted action from Axe Drax, to make a stand against the power station.
Axe Drax on University of Sheffield campus
The campaign against Drax made its way to the Students Union, with the group setting up underneath the nearby concourse. The Axe Drax campaign leaders called Drax’s green credentials “based on dodgy carbon accounting”, stating that the future subsidies would lead to “business-as-usual tree burning, with no clear end date in sight”.
“Drax’s operation model exploits and pollutes poor, black communities for profit and the UK government is funding it via our energy bills.”
The group has accused Drax of subsidising environmental racism, both in the UK and in the US, with its Mississippi pellet manufacturer creating health issues for the largely black communities nearby.
Rosie, an Axe Drax protester who only shared her first name, called the decision to extend subsidies for Drax “an absolute disaster” for bill payers, the environment and local communities. She said: “Drax has already pocketed billions in government subsidies on the basis of it being a green solution to our energy problems, we were sold a lie.”
The wood pellets that the plant burns for energy are detailed as ‘carbon neutral’ by the UK government, and are therefore funded via the public purse. Drax power station is the world’s number one tree burner and the UK’s largest emitter of CO2, accounting for 5% of UK energy.
Students voice support for Axe Drax
Sheffield University’s Young Greens society pledged their full support of the Axe Drax campaign, labelling the pollution as “sickening”.
“We believe that the government is only worsening the ongoing climate crisis by continuing to support projects like this. The government has given over £6bn worth of subsidies to Drax since 2012 and we firmly believe that this is a waste.
“Drax is the UK’s single largest carbon emitter. Rather than giving approximately £460mn a year in subsidies, we must spend that money on renewable energy – on solar, wind, wave and hydro – to secure a safer and greener future for us all.”
Adam, a geography student who gave only his first name, said: “The Uni needs to stop pretending that developing carbon capture technology is anything but a fantasy. Students don’t want to study somewhere which supports greenwashed carbon capture lies.”
Drax claims to be carbon neutral because they use carbon capture technology, but emit as much if not more CO2 than average gas or coal power plants.
Maisie, another geography student choosing to only give a first name, said: “Us, the student body, oppose the university’s support of Drax. The plant’s importing of wood from the US creates issues for the largely black communities there and for locals here in the UK.
“They say they’re being choked by fumes. We can’t allow this to continue. We must end university support for Drax now, action must be taken.”
Protests against Drax and the university’s support of the plant are set to continue, with Axe Drax at the forefront and the student body seemingly behind them in their efforts.
Drax Global has been approached for comment.
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