This article first appeared in Bioenergy Insight.
The energy landscape has fundamentally shifted over the past five years. What began as a singular focus on decarbonisation has evolved into a more complex challenge balancing climate goals with energy security, reliability and the explosive growth in power demand from artificial intelligence and data centres. For Ross McKenzie, chief sustainability officer at Drax Group, this transformation has reinforced a central thesis: that sustainable energy systems require more than just weather-dependent renewables to succeed.
‘A resilient energy mix is one that can absorb shocks without compromising reliability, affordability or sustainability,’ McKenzie explains. ‘In practice, that means balancing three complementary technology groups rather than betting everything on a single approach.’
Those three pillars, according to McKenzie, are weatherdependent renewables like wind and solar; flexible, dispatchable generation including sustainable biomass; and energy storage across multiple technologies from batteries to pumped hydro.
It’s a framework that positions biomass as a strategic asset for grid stability, rather than just a carbon-neutral fuel source. This perspective is gaining traction as power systems grapple with the reliability challenges of high renewable penetration.
The flexibility imperative
Wind and solar now comprise 35-40% of UK electricity generation and around 17% in the US, with further growth expected. However, their weather-dependent nature creates what McKenzie describes as ‘structural challenges’ during extended low-wind, low-solar periods.
‘Biomass is often assessed through the lens of carbon, land-use and deforestation, and that is an important part of the picture,’ he says. ‘But its system value is also significant. As a firm, flexible renewable source it can generate when wind and solar cannot.’
This dispatchability distinguishes biomass from other renewable sources in crucial ways. Unlike wind turbines that idle when the wind drops or solar panels that produce nothing after sunset, biomass plants can ramp up or down on demand, operating across both baseload and peak requirements to maintain grid balance.
‘As grids incorporate more intermittent renewables, extended low-wind and low-solar periods become a structural challenge,’ McKenzie notes. ‘Sustainable biomass can operate across baseload and peak demand to help keep the system balanced and secure, without adding fossil carbon to the atmosphere.’
This capability becomes increasingly valuable as renewable penetration grows. The more wind and solar capacity connects to the grid, the more critical becomes the need for flexible backup generation that can respond quickly when conditions change.
Geopolitics reshapes the conversation
‘Recent geopolitical disruption and supply chain volatility have reinforced the importance of energy security and affordability alongside decarbonisation,’ McKenzie continues. ‘That has sharpened the focus on the risks of overdependence on any single fuel source, and on the value of resilient, diversified systems.’
The result is a more nuanced policy conversation that recognises biomass not only for its decarbonisation potential but as what McKenzie calls ‘a strategic asset that can provide firm capacity and support system stability.’
In the UK and Europe, this translates into clearer emphasis on diversified low-carbon generation combining both intermittent and dispatchable sources. In the US, biomass discussions increasingly focus on strengthening domestic supply chains and supporting allies through energy exports.
‘Overall, policymakers are prioritising systems that can absorb shocks and maintain stability and predictable costs,’ McKenzie says. ‘Which elevates the role of technologies that deliver both flexibility and security.’
For Drax specifically, this shift validates its North American biomass supply chain strategy. ‘That diversification supports more stable fuel costs for Drax Power Station in the UK than a system reliant on more volatile international gas markets, while continuing to support sustainability objectives,’ McKenzie explains.
The AI factor
The emergence of AI and data centres as major electricity consumers adds another dimension to energy planning. Hyperscale companies increasingly seek 24/7 clean power solutions to meet ambitious sustainability commitments whilst ensuring uninterrupted operations.
‘Many major tech companies have set ambitious clean energy targets and are increasingly looking for firm, dispatchable generation to complement wind and solar.’
This demand profile strengthens the case for balanced generation portfolios that combine weatherdependent renewables with flexible sources and storage. Unlike traditional industrial consumers that might adjust operations based on electricity availability, data centres require constant power supply regardless of weather conditions.
‘That strengthens the case for a balanced portfolio combining renewables with flexible generation and storage to deliver reliable power when the country needs it,’ McKenzie notes.
System thinking
Drax’s approach reflects what McKenzie describes as ‘system thinking’ — viewing different technologies as complementary rather than competing assets. The company operates biomass, hydro, pumped hydro storage and is investing in battery storage, seeing each technology as contributing different capabilities to overall system stability.
‘Each contributes at different timescales providing firm capacity, flexibility and fast response, so the overall portfolio can balance variability, respond to demand in real time and support grid stability as intermittent renewable generation increases.’
This portfolio approach addresses what McKenzie characterises as the energy trilemma: delivering reliability, affordability and decarbonisation simultaneously rather than trading one objective against another.
‘In practice, energy systems must deliver reliability, affordability and decarbonisation together,’ he says. ‘A resilient approach is to build a diversified portfolio of assets so the system can manage variability and remain secure, even during periods of geopolitical disruption or supply chain volatility.’
The BECCS dimension
Looking forward, McKenzie sees Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) as potentially transformative for biomass’s role in energy systems. BECCS combines renewable electricity generation with permanent carbon removal — a dual function that could position biomass at the centre of net-zero strategies.
‘As net zero pathways become more defined, it is increasingly clear that carbon removals, including BECCS and other biogenic solutions, can play an important role for addressing residual emissions from hard-toabate sectors,’ he says.
The UK appears wellpositioned to develop BECCS at scale, given existing biomass infrastructure and access to carbon dioxide storage capacity in the North Sea. However, McKenzie emphasises that realising this potential requires coordinated infrastructure development.
‘The UK has many of the right ingredients to progress BECCS,’ he says. ‘Realising that potential at scale will depend on turning ambition into delivery, through CO2 transport and storage networks, investable market frameworks and long-term policy support.’
If those enabling conditions come together, McKenzie sees BECCS moving ‘from a promising option to a core part of the UK’s infrastructure toolkit — supporting energy security while delivering durable carbon removals.’
Balancing act
Ultimately, McKenzie’s vision for biomass reflects broader changes in how energy systems are conceived and managed. The focus has shifted from individual technologies competing for market share to integrated systems delivering multiple objectives simultaneously.
‘The objective is not a trade-off, but a balanced system that delivers immediate security of supply while staying aligned with a credible long-term pathway to net-zero,’ he concludes.
