Renewable energy company Drax said it has submitted plans to build what it called “the world’s largest carbon capture facility” at its North Yorkshire power station.
Drax said it has submitted plans to build its multi-billion-pound bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) project.
It said work to build BECCS could start as soon as 2024 with the creation of tens of thousands of jobs across the North of England.
Once operational, Drax’s two BECCS units will permanently remove at least 8 million tonnes of CO2 each year from the atmosphere.
The submission of its application for a Development Consent Order (DCO) to the Planning Inspectorate marks a major milestone in the project and follows two major consultations carried out by Drax.
“The company plans to invest £2bn in the 2020s in its plans to develop two bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) units, creating and supporting thousands of jobs in the North and enabling the UK to lead the world in a vital new technology needed to address the climate crisis,” said Drax.
“Work to build BECCS at Drax could start as soon as 2024 and once operational the two units combined will capture at least 8 million tonnes of CO2 per year, making it the largest carbon capture and storage project in power in the world.”
Drax CEO Will Gardiner said: “Drax’s BECCS project provides the UK with a once in a generation opportunity to kickstart a whole new sector of the economy and lead the world in a vital green technology needed to address the climate crisis.
“Drax aims to invest billions of pounds and create thousands of jobs developing BECCS in the UK, provided that the UK Government has in place policies to support the feasibility and delivery of negative emissions technologies.
“BECCS at Drax will not only permanently remove millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year, but it will also generate the reliable, renewable power this country needs. No other technology can do both.”