Peel Ports to build £100m Drax fuel terminal

Construction firm Graham has won the contract for the £100m biomass terminal at the Port of Liverpool to handle three million tonnes of wood pellets a year as part of the decarbonisation of Drax power station.

The wood pellets will be shipped to Liverpool from North America and are a by-product of the saw-milling industry. The wood will be used at the Selby-based power station as a new fuel source. In moving from coal to biomass Drax will reduce its CO2 footprint by 12m tonnes a year.

All of the wood pellets will be sent to Drax by rail from Liverpool to Selby ensuring there is no impact on the local road network. The terminal will feature a rail loading facility and storage capacity for 100,000 tonnes.

Andy Koss, chief executive of Drax Power, said: “The biomass terminal at the Port of Liverpool will enable us to further our ambitious decarbonisation plans and ensure Drax continues to lead the charge when it comes to creating sustainable, affordable renewable power.

“It is important to us that we measure the carbon footprint of every step in our supply chain from harvesting to transportation. By shipping to Liverpool and transporting our biomass via rail, Peel Ports have provided us with a logistics solution which minimises carbon emissions and helps us maintain our low-carbon manifesto.”

The new terminal is set to open in October 2015 and will become fully operational in July 2016.