Drax Power Plant to Stop Burning Old-Growth Canadian Trees

After years of environmental concerns, Drax power plant in North Yorkshire is making a major shift away from burning wood pellets made from some of Canada's oldest and most important forests.

The energy company announced it has already started reducing the amount of Canadian wood it burns and will completely stop using trees from British Columbia within the next year. By 2027, all biomass burned at the plant will come from U.S. sources only.

The decision comes after growing pressure from environmental groups and investigations revealing that Drax may have burned 250-year-old trees from ancient Canadian forests as recently as last summer. The Guardian and BBC documentaries raised serious questions about whether the company was truly using only waste wood and low-value materials, as required by its government subsidies.

Those subsidies matter. British households have paid more than £7 billion through their energy bills to support Drax, based on the promise that the plant only burns sustainable forest materials.

The Bright Side

This change represents a meaningful course correction for one of Britain's biggest energy producers. While Drax faced financial writedowns of nearly £200 million from shutting down its Canadian pellet operations, the company is choosing environmental responsibility over controversial profit sources.

The shift also shows that public scrutiny and investigative journalism can drive real change. When forestry experts and reporters documented concerns about old-growth logging, the evidence became impossible to ignore.

Drax's Canadian pellet facilities will continue operating, but their wood products will now go to buyers in Asia rather than powering British homes. Meanwhile, the UK government has tightened future subsidy contracts to ensure better oversight of biomass sourcing.

The company still faces questions about its long-term sustainability plans, especially after pausing carbon capture technology projects. But removing ancient forest wood from its fuel supply eliminates one major environmental concern that has plagued the plant for years.

Sometimes the best environmental news comes from stopping harmful practices rather than launching new initiatives.