decade and has set a target to double its use of biomass. South Korea is shutting 30 coal plants and Indonesia is replacing nine million tonnes of coal with biomass. In the EU, bioenergy use is forecast to grow around 70 per cent by 2050. Our experience converting Drax Power Station from coal to sustainable biomass means we are uniquely positioned to take ad-vantage of these opportunities and we are creating new business development teams in Tokyo and London this year. The deal we announced in December to acquire the pellet sales contract book of Pacific BioEnergy Corp. demonstrates our com-mitment to the growth of sustainable biomass in Japan specifically. It adds 2.8 million tonnes of orders for sustainable biomass supply to counterparties in Japan and Europe. This increases our long-term third-party sales book by 15 per cent, to around 23 million tonnes, with total revenues of over US$4.5 billion. Drax is also focusing on reducing its carbon emissions by expanding its BECCS at Drax Power Station. What are the po-tential benefits of BECCS in helping to fight climate change? To meet global climate targets, we need to do more than just reduce carbon emissions – we also need to permanently remove carbon from the atmosphere, which we can do with BECCS. BECCS doesn’t just deliver negative emissions, it also produces reliable renewable power to support the grid and help keep the lights on when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine. Alongside the climate and energy security benefits, BECCS can also provide a just transi-tion for communities – one that sustains and creates jobs and skills in new clean technologies and supply chains. Given how critical BECCS is to achieving net zero, we see many opportunities to develop this technology around the world and this is something we are already focused on. In addition to our UK BECCS project at Drax Power Station, which will permanently remove eight million tonnes of CO 2 emis-sions from the atmosphere a year by 2030, we’re also looking to deliver a further four million tonnes of negative emissions a year from new-build BECCS in North America and Europe. With regards to the wood pellet industry as a whole, what opportunities do you see in the next five to 10 years? Sustainable biomass has a vital role to play in keeping the global temperature from rising above 1.5 C, and recently we’ve seen a greater appreciation from global leaders and policymakers for the role it will play in generating renewable power and delivering neg-ative emissions. So, we expect the years ahead to be busy for Drax and the industry as demand for sustainable bioenergy increases. Drax’s world-leading biomass sourcing policy ensures that the biomass we produce and use delivers positive outcomes for the cli-mate, nature and the communities where we operate. As the world’s largest user of sustainable biomass for energy, Drax abides by a ro-bust regulatory framework in the UK and the EU and we’re always striving to go beyond existing legislation. Drax also engages with NGOs, academics, scientists and other external forestry experts to better understand issues so we can agree common principles and we will continue to do that. • om w.c dinalsa www.car Contact Cardinal for all your equipment, parts and service needs! 1 800 931-9611 Authorized Distributor of : [email protected] or [email protected] Follow us Canadian BIOMASS CB_EquipmentCardinal_Winter22_CSA.indd 1 2022-02-02 9:02 AM 17
Canadian Biomass Winter 2022: Page 17
