Government cannot be sure biomass is sustainable, senior MPs warn

Telegraph

25-04-2025

The Government cannot be sure that burning wood pellets to generate energy is happening sustainably, senior MPs have warned.
The public accounts committee said companies that generated power from biomass might be 'marking their own homework' on sustainability.
Burning wood chips to generate electricity is classified as renewable power, and is seen by ministers as essential to achieving the UK's net zero goals.
The wood must sustainably sourced and burned at facilities with carbon capture and storage technology, known as BECCS.
But in a report published on Friday, the committee said the certification schemes that aim to ensure biomass has been sustainably sourced may not be strong enough.
The committee said the Government has for too long relied on an untested approach to make sure biomass generators are meeting sustainability criteria when providing financial support.
Current arrangements rely heavily on self-reporting and third-party schemes, it said.
The group of MPs also argued that neither the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) nor regulator Ofgem know whether this is effective in ensuring the sustainability of biomass.
The Government has provided £22 billion in public subsidies to businesses and households that use biomass, with £6.5 billion going to Drax, which runs the UK's biggest power station in Yorkshire.
The sector has long faced accusations of burning wood from environmentally important or rare forests overseas.
Concerns also remain over whether biomass can be genuinely considered a low-carbon fuel and if BECCS can effectively mitigate the emissions from burning wood at scale.
On BECCS, the committee raised concerns about a lack of a contingency plan if the technology was no longer considered viable, urging DESNZ to outline alternative routes for achieving net carbon removals and what the future of biomass would be without carbon capture.
Drax has come under scrutiny over its sustainability claims but a recent report by KPMG, the accountants, found the firm did not breach any rules.
Because significant public concerns were raised in relation to the findings, the Public Accounts Committee called for the full report to be provided for parliamentary scrutiny.
The group of MPs said they had also identified risks that a provisional new deal on Government subsidies for Drax might not provide good value for money.
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, chairman of the committee, said: 'Billions upon billions of government support has been provided to the biomass sector over the past two decades.
'Rather than taking it on faith that the woody biomass burnt for energy is a sustainably sourced low-carbon alternative fuel, it is long past time a true assay was made of what taxpayers are getting for their money.'
He continued: 'In light of the continuing concerns raised around biomass highlighted by our written evidence, gaining full confidence around the sector's supply chains is work that must be carried out if Government is to truly satisfy itself that biomass is not a white elephant.
'We hope that Drax will agree with the need for parliamentary scrutiny of the findings of the review into its supply chain and reporting practices, and to supply this review to our committee.
Samantha Smith, head of Heat And Biomass UK, said the trade body was 'deeply disappointed' by the report.
She argued it overlooked the 'critical role that sustainable biomass plays today in providing baseload power and clean heat, supporting the UK's energy security and keeping bills down'.
'Independent certification schemes like the Sustainable Biomass Program are benchmarked by Ofgem and found to fully meet UK sustainability requirements, with similar findings by regulatory bodies in other jurisdictions such as the EU,' she added.