Letter: Biomass electricity is a threat to us all
I am horrified to learn that whilst the Government is cutting subsidies for genuinely low carbon onshore wind and solar power they are likely to be giving the Drax Power Station nearly £2 million in subsidies every single day for their coal and wood-burning power station.
The UK burns more wood in power stations than any other country in Europe.
Drax is importing millions of tonnes of wood pellets, many of them made from whole trees from clear-cut wetland forests in the southern US – forests teeming with plant and animal species, many of them endangered and some of them and found nowhere else in the wild.
Cutting down such forest ecosystems fuels climate change, too.
Many peer-reviewed studies, including the Department of Climate and Energy Change's own, confirms that burning wood pellets sourced in this way can be even worse for the climate than burning coal.
Without subsidies this industry would close. Is it not a form of corruption when lobbyists for industries like this succeed in getting huge subsidies whilst newer more environmentally sensitive and sustainable industries have had their much smaller subsidies cut?
Climate change is a serious and dangerous threat to peace and security around the world. We need the government to change its energy policy.
Support needs to go towards energy efficiency, home insulation and truly climate-friendly renewable such as sustainable wind and solar power – not to dirty, destructive and high-carbon biomass electricity.
Angie Zelter, Knighton
