Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 4
22nd Report - Government’s support for biomass
Published 25 Apr 2025
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee Government support for biomass All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
The deployment of BECCS has been repeatedly delayed, even though it remains a key part of the government’s plans to decarbonise the UK. The Climate Change Committee (CCC) and DESNZ both see BECCS as essential to the UK achieving its decarbonisation goals from Carbon Budget 6 (2033–37) onwards. Government initially planned for the first BECCS plant in the UK to begin operations by 2030. However, this date will not be achieved and government has yet to settle on a new target date. There are no BECCS projects in the first phase of the government’s Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage (CCUS) programme and no clarity over when or if it will be included in later stages. Currently, smaller scale biomass power generators which primarily use waste wood from the UK are excluded from the CCUS programme. It is not clear if these plants will be helped to transition to BECCS. The most recent advice published by the CCC confirms that BECCS will still be needed to achieve net zero by 2050, but only half the amount of BECCS capacity compared to previous forecasts. recommendation DESNZ should map a critical path showing when BECCS needs to be operational for the UK to achieve its decarbonisation goals and take concrete action to meet it. If BECCS is no longer considered to be viable, DESNZ should put in place robust contingency plans setting out how it will achieve the net carbon removals it requires and what the future of biomass will be.
From: Public Accounts Committee, 22nd Report - Government’s support for biomass (HC 715), 25 April 2025
Government response
Latest Treasury Minutes progress report to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Twenty-second Report of Session 2024-26
The government responded to the whole report on 4 June 2026.
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Twenty-second report from Session 2024-25
Published 10 July 2025.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government agrees with most of the Committee's recommendations on biomass, with target implementation dates between autumn 2025 and spring 2027, but disagrees on adding BECCS transition clauses to the Drax contract and says the KPMG reports are not a matter for it.
- On assessing its sustainability assurance approach, the government agrees, with a target date of autumn 2025, and says it is reflecting on evaluation and audit processes for the new Drax contract. It states the Ofgem investigation is evidence "the current assurance regime is working well".
- On a new oversight regime, the government agrees (target December 2025) and is "considering options to publish" its sustainability enforcement plans under the new Drax contract. It says any additional Ofgem oversight responsibilities "must be considered in the round".
- The government disagrees with adding clauses to the transitional support agreement to prompt Drax to transition to BECCS. It says such requirements would expose the government to "an unacceptable level of legal risk" until a full assessment of power BECCS is finalised.
- On the KPMG reports, the government says "This is not a matter for the government to consider", as the reports remain Drax's property and it is for Drax to decide whether to release them.