UK to Build World’s First Negative Emission Power Plant




/ 9 years ago

negative power

Drax in North Yorkshire is a giant coal power station. Its 12 cooling towers makes it one of the largest of its kind, and one of the world’s largest emitters of greenhouse gasses, pumping 23 million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the Earth’s atmosphere while it produces up to one-tenth of the UK’s electrical power. Change is afoot, though, as its owners are planning on scrapping fossil fuels in favour of wood pellets, while also initiating a program to plant CO2-loving trees in the Southern US to replace each one burned, with the eventual aim of absorbing all those harmful emissions. If successful, Drax could become the world’s first negative emission power plant.

“This is a very exciting new technology,” says Dr. Jeremy Tomkinson, CEO of the National Non-Food Crops Centre, said. “It means we can actually reduce the volume of CO2 in the atmosphere.” Tomkinson’s company is helping Drax’s transition into an environmentally friendly operation.

sustainable power

“Since the beginning of July, half of Drax’s electricity has been generated by burning biomass, mostly from pine forests in the American Deep South,” Richard Peberdy, vice-president for sustainability with the Drax Group, said during a tour of those forests in Mississippi. The Drax Group is converting six of its power stations to biomass.

Drax hopes to complete the conversion of its Yorkshire plant by 2020.

Thank you New Scientist for providing us with this information.


Topics: , ,

Support eTeknix.com

By supporting eTeknix, you help us grow and continue to bring you the latest newsreviews, and competitions. Follow us on FacebookTwitter and Instagram to keep up with the latest technology news, reviews and more. Share your favourite articles, chat with the team and more. Also check out eTeknix YouTube, where you'll find our latest video reviews, event coverage and features in 4K!

Looking for more exciting features on the latest technology? Check out our What We Know So Far section or our Fun Reads for some interesting original features.

eTeknix Facebook eTeknix Twitter eTeknix Instagram eTeknix Instagram
  • Be Social With eTeknix

    Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram Reddit RSS Discord Patreon TikTok Twitch
  • Features


Send this to a friend
})