Demand a public inquiry into the continued funding of Drax and the £21.7 BILLION giveaway

Drax burns wood pellets shipped from Canada and the USA, some of which come from irreplaceable forests, the equivalent of 27 million trees per year. It is the biggest producer of greenhouse gases in the UK and releases 400 tonnes of particulate matter annually, contributing to 29,000 premature deaths per year due to air pollution.

Despite this, successive governments have subsidised Drax with over £9 billion to date. It is only used when there is a shortfall from renewables, yet when there is excess energy, the government pays companies millions to shut down production. In August 2024, SSE was paid £2.5 million to keep the Viking wind farm shut for a month, while energy bills for consumers remain high.

Drax was set to lose its contract in 2027, as Hinkley Point C – a cleaner, more efficient power station – comes online, producing 7% of the UK’s energy, making Drax’s 4% contribution obsolete. Yet, Miliband has now extended Drax’s contract, justifying it by saying the subsidy has been reduced from £1 billion to £450 million per year – but why should taxpayers continue funding an unnecessary, polluting company at all?

At the same time, Miliband has announced a £21.7 billion giveaway to carbon capture projects in Merseyside and Teesside, without transparency on where the money is going. Drax, based in Teesside, has applied for a grant. Instead of investing in clean, constant energy sources like tidal power, this government is funnelling billions into projects that will be funded largely by increases in consumer electricity bills, pushing more people into energy poverty, shutting down businesses, and making the UK less competitive.

Miliband has justified this spending by citing a UK Climate Change Committee report, claiming Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) is necessary to meet 2050 targets. But he fails to mention that this recommendation was for industries like steel and cement, not energy production. The report explicitly warns that CCUS should not be used to justify funding polluting industries like Drax.

MPs have not been consulted on these massive public giveaways. Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, has raised concerns that these contracts were agreed behind closed doors without considering the impact on consumer bills and contain no requirements for investment or guarantees in return. MPs, including Sir Roger Gale and Barry Gardiner, have questioned why the government is continuing to fund Drax, with Gardiner stating that those running Drax are “not fit and proper.”

The public has a right to know why this government has extended subsidies to an obsolete, polluting power station, who the £21.7 billion in taxpayer giveaways is going to, and why these deals were made without scrutiny.

Demand a public inquiry.
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