Environment Agency Grants Drax Permit Variation For Selby Carbon Capture Project

Drax has been granted an environmental permit variation by the Environment Agency, completing the regulatory approval needed to add carbon capture technology to its power station near Selby, North Yorkshire.

The decision follows a public consultation on the Agency's draft decision held earlier this summer, after which the regulator confirmed it was satisfied that robust levels of environmental protection would be met under the updated permit terms.

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With the permit variation now finalized, Drax can integrate bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) at the biomass-fired plant. Captured carbon dioxide from electricity generation will be transported by pipeline and permanently stored in geological formations beneath the North Sea.

A Multi-Year Regulatory Process Reaches Its Conclusion

The approval closes out a review that began when Drax first applied for the variation in May 2023. The Environment Agency initially found the application incomplete and requested more detailed evidence, prompting Drax to submit a revised air emissions risk assessment covering substances that could form during the solvent-based capture process.

That response led to a second public consultation in February 2025 and a further round on the Agency's draft decision in mid-2026 before the final grant. The regulator has said it will only vary a permit once satisfied an operation meets environmental and public health requirements, based on evidence Drax has demonstrated it can meet and will continue to meet the permit's mandatory conditions.

Part Of A Broader BECCS Strategy

The Selby site sits at the center of Drax's push to establish the plant as a commercial-scale, carbon-negative power station supporting UK industrial decarbonization goals. The company has previously flagged funding uncertainty around its BECCS investment plans, citing the need for clearer UK policy support, so a finalized environmental permit removes one of the concrete regulatory hurdles standing between the project and construction.

The permit variation covers environmental conditions only. Drax's BECCS project at Selby still requires final investment decisions before large-scale carbon capture becomes operational at the site.

About Drax

Drax Group operates a portfolio of renewable electricity generation assets in England and Scotland, including the UK's largest power station at Selby, North Yorkshire. The company has set an ambition to become carbon negative by 2030 through the deployment of BECCS technology. More information is available at drax.com.

About The Environment Agency

The Environment Agency is a non-departmental public body responsible for protecting and improving the environment in England, including the regulation of environmental permits under the Environmental Permitting Regulations. More information is available at gov.uk/environment-agency.