Drax, the UK’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide, is once again facing scrutiny after a new report alleged it continues to burn 250-year-old trees sourced from Canada’s old-growth forests, challenging the company’s longstanding biomass energy sustainability claims, according to The Guardian.

Citing a report by the Canadian environmental group Stand.earth, The Guardian revealed that a subsidiary of Drax Group received hundreds of truckloads of whole logs at its pellet manufacturing sites across 2024 and into 2025. These logs reportedly came from ecologically sensitive areas in British Columbia, with many sourced from forests containing trees aged 250 years or more.

The organization said the logs were likely used to produce biomass pellets shipped to Drax’s North Yorkshire power plant, Britain’s biggest single source of carbon emissions, where they are burned to generate energy under the UK’s renewable energy program.

Environmental group raises alarm over biomass sourcing

Using official data from the government of British Columbia and satellite monitoring, the report found that Drax received at least 425 truckloads of whole logs from areas designated as cutblocks, which are cleared for logging. Many of these cutblocks were shown to be composed of 80% to over 90% old-growth forest, the report stated.

The group reported that 63 of the truckloads came from three cutblocks with more than 90% old-growth cover. Another 362 loads came from 22 cutblocks with over 80% old growth, suggesting a high likelihood that Drax burned wood from irreplaceable forests. "The true volume of old growth sourced by Drax is likely higher than what our research was able to track, because of spatial data limitations," the report added.

The findings come as Drax continues to receive over £2 million per day in UK green energy subsidies, raising concerns about public money supporting practices that may contribute to deforestation and environmental degradation. The company has lobbied for continued government support, and the subsidies were recently extended, despite renewed allegations about its wood pellet sourcing practices.

Questions grow over Drax’s sustainability claims

Drax has previously insisted it sources wood only from "well-managed, sustainable forests." However, its sustainability claims have come under fire since a 2022 BBC Panorama investigation reported that Drax had harvested primary forests in Canada for pellet production.

The UK's energy regulator and the Financial Conduct Authority have also raised questions about the company’s environmental reporting.

Responding to the latest report, a Drax spokesperson told The Guardian: "Our sourcing policy means Drax does not source biomass from designated areas of old growth and only sources woody biomass from well-managed, sustainable forests."

Drax stated that since October 2023, it has stopped sourcing wood from areas designated as "protected" or "deferred" old-growth forests by the British Columbia government.

Old-growth forests in British Columbia are defined as areas with trees older than 250 years in slow-growing ecosystems or over 140 years in faster-replacing forests. However, only 5.3 million hectares are currently designated as protected or deferred, out of an estimated 11.1 million hectares of total old-growth forest. Another 3.7 million hectares fall under separate conservation categories.

Critics argue that Drax’s policy allows for logging in vast areas that still qualify as old growth but lack protected status.