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Report finds burning wood for power worse than gas, even with carbon capture

scienceApr 20, 20265601

A Nature Sustainability paper finds that burning wood for electricity with carbon capture produces higher CO2 emissions than an equivalent natural gas plant for decades. The study projects wood-based BECCS will not achieve net negative emissions within 150 years and will raise electricity costs by about 3.5-fold. Those findings directly challenge the UK government’s plans to subsidize carbon capture on biomass power plants and force a reevaluation of whether wood-burning BECCS should qualify as CO2 removal.

Key Highlights

Nature Sustainability paper finds no negative emissions from wood BECCS within 150 years
Wood BECCS likely produces higher CO2 emissions than gas for decades
Burning wood with carbon capture will raise electricity costs roughly 3.5-fold
1 source
theguardian.comBurning wood for power worse for climate than gas equivalent, report finds

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