Drax Group teams with NFU England and Wales to develop energy crop opportunities

In the UK, Drax Group has teamed up with the National Farmers Union of England and Wales (NFU), to identify opportunities to scale up perennial energy crop production and help the UK meet its ambitious climate goals.

The Climate Change Committee (CCC) has previously stated that if the UK is to meet its decarbonization objectives, a substantial area of energy crops must be planted each year to deliver the low carbon, renewable fuel required over the coming decades.

Through the partnership announced today, Drax and the NFU plan to develop a roadmap for boosting the market in perennial energy crops, identifying how they can be used sustainably.

The program of work will help to provide insights into important diversification opportunities for UK farming businesses as they adapt to new agricultural policies and will seek to identify new revenue streams that may include utilizing marginal land unsuitable for food crops, as well as delivering meaningful climate action.

It will also support Drax’s ambition for British farmers to supply some of the biomass needed for its plans to develop the vital negative emissions technology bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS).