Co-firing is the process where a fossil fuel is mixed with biomass to produce energy, it is one option for reducing our reliance on non-renewable fuels like coal. For several years Drax have been replacing a small proportion of its coal fuel with biomass, including locally grown Miscanthus energy crops and straw.
Currently, less than 10 per cent of the fuel used to generate energy at Drax is biomass but this could be increased to more than 50 per cent says chief executive, Dorothy Thompson. However, she said this would only be possible if Government subsidies were to increase, "The level of financial support is inadequate to burn biomass in very large quantities at current market rates," she said.
"[If the ministers approve new subsidies] we would see ourselves starting along this path immediately, with delivery within three to four years. By 2020, we could be delivering renewable energy to more than 2 million homes," she said.
Drax has already put planned investments in new dedicated biomass power plants on hold, because they believe they would be uneconomic under present rules.
The Government currently supports co-firing under the Renewables Obligation scheme. The scheme awards generators of renewable electricity 'green' certificates for every unit of power they produce, which can then be sold to electricity suppliers to meet there renewable energy targets.
Co-firing currently receives just half a certificate per MW hour of energy generated, compared to two certificates for technologies like advanced gasification and dedicated biomass with combined heat and power.
The Renewables Obligation is currently under review and experts from the NNFCC are working with Government to provide evidence to support new certificate bandings.
The Government will decide on the proposals shortly and intend to confirm the new bands by the end of the year. The new bands will then come into effect on 1 April 2013 (1 April 2014 for offshore wind), subject to Parliamentary and EU State Aid approval.