Drax-owned wood pellet plant in US broke air pollution rules again

theguardian.com:

A US plant that supplies wood pellets to the UK power generator Drax has violated air pollution limits in Mississippi, it has emerged.

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) has written to Amite BioEnergy notifying the Drax-owned company that it had violated emissions rules.

The notice of violation, which has been seen by the Guardian, said that while the plant was permitted to “operate as a minor source for hazardous air pollutants”, a review of Amite’s monitoring reports had shown the factory had been a “major” source of hazardous air pollutants from January 2021 until late last year.

The plant in Gloster, Mississippi, converts trees sourced from southern states into wooden pellets, which are burnt as biomass fuel in Drax’s huge power station in Selby, North Yorkshire.

The sustainability of Drax’s operations has increasingly come under scrutiny from MPs and environmental campaigners.

In 2021, Amite was fined $2.5m (£2m) after breaching air pollution rules. It is unclear whether the latest breach will lead to a financial penalty.

The notice of violation, issued in March, said the company was permitted to emit 24 tons (22 tonnes) a year of hazardous air pollutants on a rolling 12-month basis, but reached as much as 37 tons between January 2021 and December 2022, peaking in July 2022.

The MDEQ asked Amite for an explanation and what action it had taken to correct the violation.

In response, Drax argued that pellet production was a relatively young industry, adding: “Several wood pellet facilities, not only Amite BioEnergy, initially underestimated emissions in connection with the permitting of these facilities.

“Amite BioEnergy has a history of acting quickly to update emissions and permits upon discovery of