Drax coal power station is the largest remaining coal generator in the country and has stated that from next year they are going to stop burning coal and switch to biomass. This is a fantastic milestone and should be celebrated.
Having said that biomass power plants must be extremely careful. In theory biomass is a much better thing to burn than coal because you can simply plant more climbs back up carbon released.
However in practice, some parts of the world have supplied their biomass power stations by cutting down ancient forests. This is a foolish move as you release so much carbon you would have been better off using coal. Carefully managed plantations can be a different matter. Essentially you burn plants and release the carbon that they absorbed in the last few years.
The problem is that this is expensive and so many biomass power plants simply use the cheapest material that comes in and this can lead to deforestation and destruction of habitats. Careful rules must be put in place to make sure that this biomass power plant is a positive not negative impact on the environment and global warming.
