camelot-forum.co.uk

robl wrote: ↑Sat Mar 01, 2025 7:47 am Why did Ed Milliband agree to CCS and also to subsidise Drax? I think it pained him to do so, must’ve been some serious lobbying going on.

Drax power plant to cut carbon capture investment despite record £1bn profit
The owner of the Drax wood-burning power plant will slow its investment in carbon capture to reduce its emissions, despite securing an extra three years of government subsidies and earning record profits above £1bn last year.
Drax Group said it would commit less investment to fitting the technology at the North Yorkshire power plant unless the government provided clarity over the returns it could expect to make from the upgrade.

The company signalled the slowdown just weeks after the government agreed to pay extra public subsidies worth about half a billion pounds a year to help the company develop its carbon capture project after 2027, when its current subsidy regime ends.
The company lobbied for the extra support from 2027 to 2031, arguing it was necessary to keep the power plant running while it develops the scheme, which could begin operating in the 2030s.

On Thursday, however, Drax said it would “commit less development investment” to its strategic investments – including carbon removals, 24/7 renewable power, datacentres and energy storage – “until we receive greater certainty on appropriate regulatory structures and investments returns”.
The warning came alongside the company’s financial results, which showed that it had made the highest earnings in its 35-year history. Its adjusted earnings rose to £1.06bn last year, narrowly above its profits of £1.01bn the year before.
The profits are largely built on the billion-pound subsidies given to Drax for burning biomass, which is considered a form of renewable energy despite claims from climate scientists that it may increase emissions in the short term.

AE-NMidlands wrote: ↑Sun Mar 02, 2025 8:44 am More on Drax: https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... e-pandemic says

Drax power plant to cut carbon capture investment despite record £1bn profit
The owner of the Drax wood-burning power plant will slow its investment in carbon capture to reduce its emissions, despite securing an extra three years of government subsidies and earning record profits above £1bn last year.
Drax Group said it would commit less investment to fitting the technology at the North Yorkshire power plant unless the government provided clarity over the returns it could expect to make from the upgrade.

The company signalled the slowdown just weeks after the government agreed to pay extra public subsidies worth about half a billion pounds a year to help the company develop its carbon capture project after 2027, when its current subsidy regime ends.
The company lobbied for the extra support from 2027 to 2031, arguing it was necessary to keep the power plant running while it develops the scheme, which could begin operating in the 2030s.

On Thursday, however, Drax said it would “commit less development investment” to its strategic investments – including carbon removals, 24/7 renewable power, datacentres and energy storage – “until we receive greater certainty on appropriate regulatory structures and investments returns”.
The warning came alongside the company’s financial results, which showed that it had made the highest earnings in its 35-year history. Its adjusted earnings rose to £1.06bn last year, narrowly above its profits of £1.01bn the year before.
The profits are largely built on the billion-pound subsidies given to Drax for burning biomass, which is considered a form of renewable energy despite claims from climate scientists that it may increase emissions in the short term.

Sheer greed...

Fintray wrote: ↑Sun Mar 02, 2025 12:34 pm I wish the government would just put it back to them and say that due to your change of commitment we are stopping all subsidies forthwith and see what their response is.