MINISTERS raised concerns today that biomass firms are “marking their own homework” when evaluating their own sustainability practices.

In a report on government support for biomass, the public accounts committee warned that certification schemes proving green credentials may not be adequate.

The government has granted £22 billion of support towards businesses and households using biomass fuel since 2002, with it considering it a low-carbon alternative to fossil fuels if sustainably sourced.

Drax, a wood-burning power plant in north Yorkshire, which is also Britain’s largest carbon emitter, received £6.5bn worth of subsidies alone.

The firm was fined by Ofgem £25m last year after it failed to submit accurate data on the sourcing of its wood pellets.

The report argues that the government has been relying on an untested approach to make sure that biomass firms are meeting sustainability criteria in return for taxpayer-funded subsidies.

It warns that it relies heavily on self-reporting and third-party schemes, which neither the government nor Ofgem know are effective, and “runs the risk that biomass generators are marking their own homework.”

Stuart Boothman from Just Transition Wakefield said: “We are in the middle of a global nature collapse, but there is still no reference to this in the sustainability criteria. This cannot be left unchallenged.”

The government announced in February that it will provide Drax with funding for at least four more years.

Although subsidies will be reduced by half, the report notes that Drax will receive a higher unit price than other renewable generators.

Merry Dickinson of the Stop Burning Trees Coalition said the plan to funnel bill payer money to Drax is “beyond poor value for money” and called it “nonsensical to pretend Drax’s planet-wrecking emissions do not exist in the UK.”

“If these subsidies go ahead it will put even greater strain on bill-payers and continue putting the health of our forests and communities in grave danger.”

A government spokesperson said: “Drax will operate for less of the time under a clean power system and will need to use 100 per cent sustainably sourced biomass, with not a penny of subsidy paid for anything less.”

Activists from Axe Drax and Reclaim the Power today occupied the York head office of Enviva, the world’s biggest wood pellet producer and one of Drax’s main suppliers. 

Occupiers hung banners out the windows reading: “Drax and Enviva Poison People” and “Drax and Enviva: Burning Forests, Poisoning Communities.”