Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether wood pellets sourced from old growth forests in Canada have been burned in the Drax Power Station in 2024 and 2025.

We have not seen evidence that material sourced from old growth forests in Canada has been used for UK power generation and Drax has a policy of not sourcing directly from protected Old Growth Management Areas or Old Growth Deferral Areas in British Columbia.

Nevertheless, we have introduced an explicit exclusion for material harvested in old-growth areas in the new contract to eliminate this risk. Any breaches would result in significant financial penalties and could lead to termination of the contract. This will be enforced by enhanced assurance and audit arrangements.