Drax Power’s main site in Yorkshire
Letter on carbon: Backing Beccs
Drax Power has secured planning permission to start developing one of the world’s largest commercial projects, but how robust is the argument for deploying Beccs at scale?
Policymakers and the IEA have been telling us for some time that bioenergy with CCS (Beccs) will be needed at scale if we are to achieve net zero. But scepticism over the technology’s claimed ability to deliver negative emissions, or carbon removal, as well as serious doubts over its economic viability and its access to enough sustainably sourced feedstock have constrained its growth. Based on projects in the early and advanced stages of deployment, carbon removal via Beccs could reach just under 50mt/yr by 2030, according to the IEA. This falls far short of the approximately 190mt/yr by 2030 needed for the agency’s Net Zero Emissions by 2050 (NZE) Scenario. However, deployment of Beccs is g
Also in this section
28 March 2025
The massive expansion of the Northern Lights project in Norway is the clearest sign yet that the European oil and gas companies mean business when it comes to CCS
27 March 2025
Awards celebrate global innovation, leadership and achievement across the energy sector’s people, projects, technologies and companies.
20 March 2025
While advanced economies debate peak fossil fuel demand, billions of people still lack access to reliable and affordable energy, especially in the Global South
14 March 2025
Ignoring questions of sustainability will not make the problems they focus on go away
