Drax Power Station's Carbon Emissions Hit a New High in 2025

England's largest source of emissions, the Drax power station, saw its carbon emissions reach a new high in 2025. According to analysis by think tank Ember, the Drax power station produced 14.1 million tons of CO2e emissions in 2025, which is roughly four times that of the second-largest source of emissions.

The Drax power station received a record £999 million in public subsidies in 2025, which translates to an average cost of £13 per household in the UK. Ember's energy analyst Josie Murdoch stated, "The high cost of Drax being England's largest source of emissions for the eleventh year running is clear. Biomass burning for power generation is never going to be a good value for bill-payers or the environment and should be phased out entirely."

In 2025, 99% of the biomass burned at the Drax power station was imported. 86.7% of the biomass sources came from the US and Canada, while 13.2% came from Europe, particularly Latvia. Biomass sources from the UK accounted for less than 1%, contradicting the long-standing goal of developing local biomass sources proposed by independent organizations.

The Drax power station has entered the final 12 months of high public subsidy payments, which will end in April 2026. A new public subsidy will come into effect in April 2027, which will reduce Drax's annual emissions to 5.8 MtCO2e, marking the beginning of a gradual reduction in biomass burning. However, Drax will still produce more emissions than the second-largest source and is expected to remain England's largest source of emissions until at least 2030.

Ember is an independent energy think tank that aims to accelerate the transition to clean energy. It provides targeted data insights to accelerate policy changes towards a clean and electrified energy future.

Source: CleanTechnica