Drax Group’s chief executive talks to Utility Week about the “once in a generation” chance the UK has to lead a global green industrial revolution.

COP26

What do you want hear from the conference?

COP26 will be a major moment for the UK in terms of climate diplomacy and a significant milestone for other international players – in particular, for the new US administration. If we are to tackle the climate crisis, many believe it will be the world’s last best chance to get climate change under control.

The climate emergency has reached a point where reducing emissions is no longer enough, we need to start removing the CO2 already in the atmosphere if we are to stand a change of keeping global warming below the 1.5-degree target agreed in Paris.

It’s crucial that a global commitment to net zero by mid-century is agreed, to keep that target within reach. We also need to agree a timeline to phase out the use of coal in power generation, as well as mobilising investment in vital climate saving green technologies.

Working together will also be a key outcome, as change cannot be achieved without effective partnerships. Finally, the world also needs to adapt to protect communities and natural habitats as we transition to a net zero future.

What should the legacy of COP26 be?

The world’s leading climate scientists at the UN IPCC have said we’re on code red. Collective action to move away from coal globally, is therefore absolutely essential now.

At Drax, we’ve transitioned from being one of Western Europe’s highest emitters when we only used coal, to become Europe’s largest decarbonisation project and the UK’s biggest generator of renewable electricity.

And we’re going further with plans to use the negative emissions technology, bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS). BECCS is a vital tool in combatting climate change is it removes CO2 from the atmosphere whilst also generating the renewable electricity relied upon by millions of homes and businesses.  Once up and running, BECCS at Drax will be the world’s largest carbon capture in power project.

As well as reaching collective agreement on coal, we hope that COP26 will be an opportunity to discuss the need for carbon removal technologies like BECCS.

The Coalition for Negative Emissions (CNE) is a diverse group of over 20 leading companies, investors and trade associations – including Drax, which aim to advance global action to rapidly deploy negative emissions solutions. CNE members want to see action to reduce carbon emissions as well as action to deploy carbon removal technologies, through national commitments on negative emissions. This would send a clear signal to the world, helping to kickstart a whole new sector of the economy.

Is your company actively participating in COP26?

Drax will be taking part in several events as part of this year’s COP. We are partnering with Climate Action, for their Sustainable Innovation Forum.

We’ll be involved in several key events within Climate Action’s zone, highlighting how Drax is working hard to enable the UK reach net zero. We’ll also be taking part in events with the World Bioenergy Association and Biomass UK, outlining the vital role sustainable biomass will play in reaching global climate targets.

Has the UK done enough this year to position itself as a world leader on climate change?

The UK has a once in a generation chance to lead a global green industrial revolution.

Negative emissions technologies, like BECCS, will be essential in meeting the UK’s legally binding net zero by 2050 target. The Climate Change Committee (CCC) says that the UK cannot meet net zero without negative emissions from technologies such as BECCS, whilst the UN’s IPCC has stated that they will be needed around the world to help offset emissions from sectors that are the hardest to decarbonise, such as agriculture and aviation.

Drax has made significant progress towards deploying BECCS. We’ve kickstarted the planning process this year, with a view to gaining approval from the Secretary of State in 2023. In the summer we announced Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as our technology partner to deliver BECCS and we’ve got plans to boost the UK’s supply chain by committing to sourcing 80% of construction materials and services to build BECCS at Drax from British businesses.

Work is also underway to advance our plans to extend Cruachan, our pumped hydro storage station (PSH) just up the road from Glasgow, in Argyll, Scotland. PSH provides essential system support services to maintain secure electricity supplies and enables more renewables like wind and solar to come online. PSH is the only technology currently available that can provide energy storage at scale. Energy storage as well as the provision of ancillary services from PSH ensure the grid operates safely and efficiently. As well as this, PSH will help to cut energy costs by reducing the need for wind farms to be paid to turn off when they are generating excess power, enabling that power to be stored within the reservoir. This will become increasingly important as the UK is set to quadruple offshore wind capacity by 2030, as set out in the PM’s 10-point plan.

Walking the talk

When and how is your company planning to get to net zero?

At COP 25 in 2019 in Madrid, I announced Drax’s world-leading ambition to be carbon negative by 2030 – that means we’ll be removing more CO2 from the atmosphere than is emitted right across our operations, creating a negative carbon footprint for the company. This ambition can only be achieved by deploying BECCS.

Our plan is to have our first BECCS unit up and running in 2027, subject to planning permission being granted and the right support framework from government to enable the investment. The second unit will be up and running by 2030, and together they will capture and permanently store a combined total of 8Mt of CO2 each year.

In April this year, I was proud to announce that Drax had also signed up to the government’s “Race to Zero” climate commitment, joining more than 3,000 other businesses around the world.

To what extent should utilities look to offset emissions as opposed to focusing on achieving zero carbon?

The scale of the challenge is so great now, we have to do everything we can – so it’s no longer a choice of one thing or another. We need to do everything. By having separate targets for emissions reduction and for carbon removal, utilities, and the economy as a whole, can focus on decarbonisation using all the tools available, and without trading off one for another.

The climate experts have been clear that strategies are needed to support harder to abate sectors such as agriculture, heavy industry, and aviation, to reach net zero. For them the solutions are not as simple and so it is a much harder task to achieve.

By offsetting their emissions, they can continue to operate, protecting tens of thousands of jobs, whilst investing and advancing technologies that will enable them to reach net zero.

Recent research showed that people in the UK are as concerned about climate change as they are about the economy. The great thing about investing in climate solutions like negative emissions from BECCS is that these deliver for both the economy and the environment.

The NIC recognised the potential these technologies have to kickstart a whole new sector of the economy in its report earlier this year. Tens of thousands of jobs will be created whilst millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide are permanently removed from the atmosphere.

Customers and the community

What role can utilities play in helping to engage customers on the path to net zero?

It’s all about understanding what customers need. Many businesses have spent the best part of the last two years in survival mode, simply trying to keep their heads above the water. But now, as we look at building back better in a post Covid world, we can work with them to help them develop their net zero strategies and meet their ESG goals.

Drax’s aim is to work in partnership with our business customers to create solutions that meet their needs. The next decade will see a monumental shift in how electricity is generated and consumed. The rise of the prosumer means we’re seeing an increase in independent renewable generators, that are helping with grid stability.

It’s not simply about supplying them with renewable power anymore. By taking a partnership approach, we can better understand how our customers operate, and where they can make savings through the optimisation of their operations.

We’re also going to see a major shift in transport, with the move to electric vehicles. National Grid projections suggest the number of EVs on UK roads could reach 10.6 million by 2030 rising as high as 36 million by 2040.

In September more than 32,000 EVs took to the road marking a rapid rise in EV take up – when you consider there were just 37,000 EVs registered during the whole of 2019.

To support businesses make the move to EVs we’ve launched Drax Electric Vehicles. An end-to-end service that takes the hard work out of switching by supporting companies to make the business case, installing and managing charging facilities and identifying the right cars to switch.

We also have Drax Electric Assets, a new service to help businesses optimise their operations, to make the most of their energy use, and save money.

Policy & regulation

What is your principle ask of government and regulators to help your company contribute to the net-zero push?

Over the last decade successful policies were put in place to incentivise investment in renewable technologies like offshore wind, solar and biomass. As a result, the UK’s electricity system has decarbonised at a faster rate than any other in the world.

Drax is ready to invest £2bn in BECCS in the UK but there is currently no mechanism to reward negative emissions in the energy or carbon markets.

We want to see similar progressive policies to those created for renewables, which would incentivise the investment needed to get negative emissions technologies like BECCS off the ground, kickstarting a whole new sector of the economy, creating exciting export opportunities for the UK, whilst demonstrating climate leadership.

This interview is part of the Countdown to COP series. To read more click here.