FT reports “Drax quits carbon-capture project” because government green policy reversals made it too risky to proceed

The Financial Times today reports: “A £1bn UK climate-change plan has been thrown into turmoil after the Drax power company said it was pulling out because government green policy reversals made it too risky to proceed.”

Drax is a large coal-fired power station located in North Yorkshire, England, capable of co-firing biomass and petcoke, and its name comes from the nearby village of Drax. It is situated on the River Ouse between Selby and Goole. Its generating capacity of 3,960 megawatts is the highest of any power station in the United Kingdom and Western Europe, providing about 7% of the United Kingdom’s electricity supply. The White Rose Carbon Capture and Storage Project (White Rose CCS Project) based at Drax, would have comprised of a state-of-the-art coal-fired power plant equipped with full carbon capture and storage technology.

Peter Emery, the Drax board member chairing the group developing the White Rose carbon capture project, told the FT that they had: “concerns about the government’s future support for the low carbon agenda and that’s left us in a position where we are no longer confident we can persuade our shareholders that this is an attractive investment, given the obvious risks.”

Read the full article here (Paywall).

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