The Prime Minister has said he will look at a report which has accused Britain’s biggest power station of illegally claiming Government subsidies.
Drax power station in North Yorkshire receives millions of pounds a year in direct Government subsidies, in addition to multimillion-pound carbon tax breaks.
Money for the subsidies comes from energy bill payers, because the electricity produced from burning wood pellets is classified as renewable.
Biomass as a clean energy source has long been under dispute and the Government has faced calls to end financial support for companies such as Drax.
Since 2012, the Drax power station has been given £7 billion of green subsidies by the Government for burning 27 million trees per year. That’s enough money for five years of pensioners’ winter fuel payments
In the Commons, Independent MP Rosie Duffield urged Sir Keir Starmer to look at a report by financial services company KPMG “before giving another £1 of taxpayers’ money to Drax”.
Currently, the subsidy scheme is due to end in 2027.
At Prime Minister’s Questions, the former Labour MP who represents Canterbury, said: “Since 2012, the Drax power station has been given £7 billion of green subsidies by the Government for burning 27 million trees per year. That’s enough money for five years of pensioners’ winter fuel payments.
“While Ofgem has been asleep at the wheel, a recent KPMG report has concluded that Drax claimed those subsidies illegally.
“Will the Prime Minister today demand to see that KPMG report before giving another £1 of taxpayers’ money to Drax?”
Sir Keir replied: “It is an important issue, of course we will look at the report, but I don’t join in her description, we will look at the report.”
A speech by Health Secretary Wes Streeting was interrupted by two women protesting against the continued subsidisation of the power station, on Saturday.
Ofgem found no evidence that our biomass failed to meet the sustainability criteria of the Renewables Obligation (RO) scheme, nor that the ROCs (Renewables Obligation Certificates) we received for the renewable power we produced had been provided incorrectly
The climate protestors, who said they voted Labour in 2024, were both swiftly removed from the Fabian Society’s new year conference in London’s Guildhall by security.
A Drax spokesperson said: “Ofgem found no evidence that our biomass failed to meet the sustainability criteria of the Renewables Obligation (RO) scheme, nor that the ROCs (Renewables Obligation Certificates) we received for the renewable power we produced had been provided incorrectly.
“The KPMG report referenced by Rosie Duffield did not come to that conclusion and was seen by Ofgem during their investigation.
“Drax provides secure renewable power to millions of homes and businesses when they need it, not just when the wind is blowing, or the sun is shining.
“The science underpinning biomass generation is supported by the world’s leading climate experts, including the UN’s IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) and the UK’s CCC (Committee on Climate Change).”
