Drax pulls out of White Rose CCS

biffvernon · Post by **biffvernon** » 25 Sep 2015, 08:04

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’s decision to abandon five years of planning for a carbon capture and storage system next to its huge North Yorkshire power station is the most visible sign yet of how green energy subsidy cutbacks are jolting investors.

Several “critical reversals” in government support for renewable energy had made “a severe impact on our profitability”, said Peter Emery, the Drax board member chairing the group developing the White Rose carbon capture project.
“We’ve also got 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,” he told the Financial Times.
“The government has to make difficult decisions based on affordability and, in turn, so are we,” he added, in a thinly veiled dig at Amber Rudd, the energy secretary, who says subsidy cuts are needed to protect hard-working British families.
U-turns on support for renewable energy have sent a chill through the green investment community that had been buoyed by David Cameron’s previous vow to head the greenest government ever.
Since the Conservatives won the May election, ministers have reduced support for wind and solar power, ended the Green Deal home energy saving programme and raised questions about the level of future support for renewable energy projects.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0290c57e-62da ... z3mjClfbpf

biffvernon · Post by **biffvernon** » 25 Sep 2015, 08:20

In the last Budget Osborne removed the Climate Change Levy exemption from renewable electricity schemes, so renewables now pay a tax for the damage done by non-renewables! It's bonkers. Drax scrapping Carbon Capture and Storage is a mighty big chicken coming home to roost.

From last July: http://www.theguardian.com/business/201 ... hange-levy