Drax Group (LSE:DRX) faced a renewed bout of scrutiny from environmental campaigners at its annual meeting on Thursday, including BBC presenter Chris Packham.
Protestors, calling on the energy firm to stop burning wood for power, crowded the entrance of 133 Houndsditch, City of London, where the shareholder meeting took place.
“In a global biodiversity crisis, you cannot justify felling and transporting wood from some of the planet’s most precious natural resources,” Packham had said ahead of the meeting.
“It’s a disgrace that Drax is receiving huge subsidies meant for genuine renewables, it is past time to stop funding Drax’s destruction.”
Drax claims the wood used in its North Yorkshire power plant is sustainable and therefore a source of renewable energy.
However, the FTSE 250-listed company has faced scrutiny after a BBC investigation found in February that some of this wood had come from “precious” forests across the Atlantic.
“Drax is committed to ensuring the biomass we source delivers positive outcomes for the climate, for nature and for the communities in which we operate,” a spokesperson said.
Drax had said on Thursday that it was still waiting to hear whether the government would provide support for plans to retrofit the company's North Yorkshire biomass plant with carbon capture technology.
This technology, known as BECCS, would aid the UK’s efforts toward reaching net zero, according to Drax, with carbon from the burning of wood pellets at the plant stored beneath the North Sea.
Drax had received approval to go ahead with the plans earlier this year but is yet to hear whether public subsidies will be provided for the £2 billion scheme.
The company already receives government support for its biomass power generation, with forward contracted sales, from the likes of contracts for difference, sitting at £2.9 billion as of April.