The Drax power station has been taken to court twice this year for air pollution offences. I questioned the Minister because it’s obvious that Drax is bad for the local environment and for the planet.

It has already received £800m in subsidies or tax breaks from the government and this could turn into billions if they continue with future plans. That kind of government support could be directed instead to developing other emerging renewable sources such as wave power.

Drax claim to be carbon neutral but they discount their stack emissions, contrary to IPCC rules.

The wood pellets are transported on big diesel tanker ships from the US and Canada. The company make a big selling point of their hope to go carbon negative by 2030 by using carbon capture technology. However, it’s not yet operating on that scale and the timetable is unrealistic. The investment will make Drax electricity a lot more expensive, when cheaper renewable alternatives are available.