The European Union (EU) Commission recently announced an investigation into the state aid provided for the world’s largest forest destroyer for electricity, Drax. The taxpayer dollars that the UK is providing Drax to convert to burning Southern US forests for electricity is another example of why this destructive industry is moving us backwards away from a healthy, truly sustainable future.
Big money corporations are extracting our natural resources in the South, making millions at the expense of hard working Southerners with no lasting benefits to those of us who call this region home…
This morning, Drax (LSE: DRX), one of the largest utilities in the UK, announced that it was pulling out of a plan to build a new coal burning power plant that would co-fire wood pellets and utilize untested Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology. The conservation community welcomed the news that they hoped would mean the end of the controversial White Rose Project.
This is Part 1 of a 2 part series exploring the impact that the wood pellet industry is having on the rural communities of the Gulf coast. Part 2 will look at the wood pellet industry in the Florida panhandle and more deeply explore the economics of the industry…
just 15 months after our first delegation to Europe, our second trip across the pond proves that our message got through. Today, decision makers are clear that the use of our forests for fuel is an area of big concern. We no longer need to debate whether it is just waste wood or residuals; they all understand that the wood pellet industry and utilities are using whole trees.
