The British producer of electricity from renewable sources Drax received billions of pounds in green subsidies from taxpayers, and in Canada it is cutting down forests important to the environment, the BBC reported.

Drax operates Britain's largest power station, burning millions of tonnes of wood pellets classified as renewable energy.

The BBC reports that some of the wood used to make the pellets comes from ancient forests in Canada.

The company claims to use only sawdust and waste wood.

The BBC analyzed satellite images and tracked logging permits, using drones to prove its claims.

Environmentalist Michelle Connolly says that "the company is destroying forests that took thousands of years to develop."

"It's a real shame that British taxpayers are funding this destruction. Cutting down natural forests and turning them into pellets that are burned for electricity is absolutely insane," Connolly said.

The once coal-fired Drax power station in Yorkshire now produces 12 percent of the UK's renewable electricity and has already received six billion pounds of "green" subsidies.

Burning wood is considered "green", but is controversial among environmentalists.

The latest satellite images show that Drax is currently cutting down the forest, says the BBC. The company, however, said that many of the trees there had dried up and that the felling would reduce the risk of forest fires.

The government of British Columbia emphasized that ancient forests are extremely important and that companies should delay cutting them.