Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate his Department has made of the number of trees from (a) primary and (b) old growth forests burnt by the Drax power station since 2012.

The origin and profile of biomass used by Drax is monitored by Ofgem. The Government requires that all biomass used by Drax be compliant with strict sustainability criteria. This requires that biomass must be legally and sustainably harvested and includes requirements around protecting biodiversity and maintaining forest productivity.

We have strengthened sustainability requirements in our recently announced deal with Drax. In the agreed low carbon dispatchable Contract for Difference, we will explicitly exclude material sourced from primary forests and old growth forests from receiving support payments. There will be substantial penalties on Drax if sustainability criteria are not met.