Straw Powering Drax

In a step toward reducing Drax's power station CO2 emissions, Drax is looking for alternative energy sources to power its huge coal-based power plant. This new energy source is Straw, a by-product of cereal farming.

The straw will be collected from farms within a 50 to 70 miles radius of Drax. To make it easier to transport, the straw will be processed into pellets in a new straw-pelleting plant at Goole, ix miles from Drax. This plant is expected to process 100,000 tonnes of next year's harvest in order to be burnt at Drax.

In a new £60m co-firing facility being built on site, pellets will be broken up and injected into the furnaces along with the coal.

Drax, currently supplying up to 7% of the UK's electricity demand, is its biggest single source of carbon dioxide. For this reason, Drax is aiming to cut carbon emissions by 15 per cent by 2011. The trucks transporting the fuel will create pollution, but on site the manufacturing process itself produces no emissions.

Straw is extremely effected by the climate, wet weather through-out the harvest means no straw. This could force the plant to shut down or look for other energy sources.

In 2007, Drax burned almost 200,000 tonnes of biomass.

Source:Yorkshire Post