This report compares CO2 emissions from biomass to other sources of power generation in the UK, and analyses the scale of public subsidy.
Across the UK’s electricity sector, burning wood is now the second largest CO2 emitter after fossil gas. Due to its lower energy density than fossil fuels, wood has to be burned in higher volumes to produce the same amount of energy. This means that burning wood emits more carbon dioxide per kWh of electricity than coal or gas.
Last year over 7Mt of wood (around 6.5Mt at Drax and 1Mt at Lynemouth) were burned in the UK to generate just over 4% of total UK electricity supply. Burning wood at this scale generated 13.1Mt of CO2 emissions, or 20% of UK power sector emissions. 12.1Mt alone came from one power station: Drax, the world’s largest wood-burner.
Access the complete report here
