An environmental group is claiming that B.C. old-growth trees are being burned to generate electricity in the U.K.

Stand.earth says in a report that wood pellets from three Drax mills in Northern B.C. are being made from some of the province’s oldest forests.

“Canada is the third largest exporter of wood pellets globally… and B.C. is the largest exporter,” Tegan Hansen, senior forest campaigner at Stand.earth said.

The company says it uses them to generate carbon-neutral electricity at its U.K. plants that used to be powered by coal.

Drax claims the pellets are made from wood waste or defective trees that conventional mills may not want to buy.

“Drax now also has a near monopoly on wood pellet production in British Columbia,” Hansen said.

Drax is a U.K.-based utility that makes po

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