Drax Ouse Renewable Energy Plant is one of the three proposed 300 MW biomass

Biomass

Biomass, as a renewable energy source, is biological material from living, or recently living organisms. As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly, or converted into other energy products such as biofuel....

-fired renewable energy plants in the United Kingdom, which is developed by Drax Power Limited

Drax Group

Drax Group plc is a British electrical power generation company. The company's principal subsidiary is Drax Power Limited, owner of the Drax power station near Selby in North Yorkshire, the largest coal-fired power station in Europe which supplies about 7% of UK electrical consumption...

 and Siemens Power Ventures GmbH

Siemens

Siemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG...

. A site of the Drax Ouse Renewable Energy Plant adjacent to the current Drax Power Station on the River Ouse

River Ouse, Yorkshire

The River Ouse is a river in North Yorkshire, England. The river is formed from the River Ure at Cuddy Shaw Reach near Linton-on-Ouse, about 6 miles downstream of the confluence of the River Swale with the River Ure...

 near Selby

Selby

Selby is a town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Situated south of the city of York, along the course of the River Ouse, Selby is the largest and, with a population of 13,012, most populous settlement of the wider Selby local government district.Historically a part of the West Riding...

 in North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...

.

Description

The site has been selected as a potential location due to its proximity to the existing Drax Power Station infrastructure, including rail and road off-loading facilities, water supply and discharge capability, and existing connection to the electricity transmission network. In addition, the adjacent buildings and structures of the existing Drax Power Station will minimise the visual impact of the proposed plant.

The plant will consume approximately 1.4 million tonnes of biomass per year (dependent upon the actual types of biomass material used). Although imported biomass will initially made up much of the fuel source, Drax is keen to develop the use of indigenous biomass fuels where available and are encouraging the development of local energy crops and other renewable supplies. The Drax Ouse Renewable Energy Plant is predicted to result in a saving of 1,800,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...

  from fossil fuels each year, and to provide enough electricity to power 512,000 homes.

The plant will be water-cooled, using the water from the nearby River Ouse, and biomass fuel will be transferred to the site via conveyors from off-loading facilities. Electricity will be exported from the plant on to the national electricity transmission network.

It is anticipated that the flue gas stack

Flue gas stack

A flue-gas stack is a type of chimney, a vertical pipe, channel or similar structure through which combustion product gases called flue gases are exhausted to the outside air. Flue gases are produced when coal, oil, natural gas, wood or any other fuel is combusted in an industrial furnace, a power...

 will be 100 metres (328.1 ft) tall, the boiler house approximately 60 metres in height and the cooling towers approximately 20–25 m (65.6–82 ) tall.

The planning process

The proposal requires consent from the Department of Energy and Climate Change

Department of Energy and Climate Change

The Department of Energy and Climate Change is a British government department created on 3 October 2008 by Prime Minister Gordon Brown to take over some of the functions of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs...

 (DECC). Drax intends to also consult with Selby District Council, North Yorkshire County Council, the Environment Agency

Environment Agency

The Environment Agency is a British non-departmental public body of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and an Assembly Government Sponsored Body of the Welsh Assembly Government that serves England and Wales.-Purpose:...

, Natural England

Natural England

Natural England is the non-departmental public body of the UK government responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, freshwater and marine environments, geology and soils, are protected and improved...

, members of the public and a range of other organisations.