The future of Drax, Britain’s largest power plant

IF YOU want a monument to Britain’s energy transition, look no further than the 12 smoke-stained cooling towers of Drax power station, which loom over the north Yorkshire countryside. Built close to the now-dormant Selby coalfield, which once delivered the dirtiest fossil fuel to its furnaces, Drax is Britain’s largest power plant, generating around 4% of the country’s electricity supply. The final coal unit on the site closed in 2023; the vapour that now billows from the cooling towers is a byproduct of the process of burning wood pellets.