Drax power plant owner reports highest earnings since pandemic
The owner of the Drax power plant has reported its highest earnings since the coronavirus pandemic only weeks after the government said that controversial subsidies for biomass power had allowed it to make 'unacceptably large profits'.
Drax Group said its adjusted earnings rose to £1.06bn last year, narrowly above its profits of £1.01bn the year before.
The profits are largely built on the billion-pound subsidies given to the North Yorkshire power plant every year to support its biomass generation, which is considered a form of renewable energy despite claims from climate scientists that it may increase emissions in the short-term.
The government agreed earlier this month to extend the group's subsidies beyond a 2027 deadline to 2031. It insisted that the plant, which supplies about 5% of the UK's electricity, would be used only as backup for when wind and solar power was in short supply, playing a 'much more limited role' in future.
The energy minister Michael Shanks said at the time that the previous subsidy arrangement had allowed Drax to make 'unacceptably large profits' and that the new deal would be a 'step-change in value for money and sustainability'.
The FTSE 250 company's power generation increased by more than a quarter last year, according to Drax, with only a single major planned outage, which it completed ahead of schedule.
Will Gardiner, Drax Group's chief executive, said: 'We produced over 25% more dispatchable renewable power in 2024, keeping the lights on for millions of homes and businesses, while supporting thousands of jobs throughout our supply chain.'
Sign up to Business Today
Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning
after newsletter promotion
He described the new subsidy arrangement as 'a major milestone for the business' that would mean the site would 'continue to generate electricity for the country, especially when the wind isn't blowing, and the sun isn't shining'.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
QUENTIN LETTS: Mrs Badenoch was perkier than usual. Does she finally glimpse hope?
Does Kemi Badenoch finally glimpse hope? The rotten economic growth figures were published shortly before she made a speech in the City of London. By that time the nation had been subjected to downbeat verdicts on the government's spending splurge and to the sight and sound of Rachel Reeves on the breakfast airwaves. Captain of sinking pedalo urges passengers not to abandon ship. Mrs Badenoch strolled into the low-ceilinged, implausibly-chandeliered function room of one of those modern hotels on the edge of the Square Mile. The event was the FTSE 250+ conference, an assembly of 'key risk-takers' seeking 'sharp perspectives from the front lines of our turbulent, opportunity-rich markets'. A fruit-juice-and-Danish-pastries affair. The session was chaired by an economist, Kallum Pickering, who bluntly told the Tory leader 'we're all a bit grumpy'. Skinny, bearded Kallum explained that the audience – youthful, cologned – felt 'like a stalled engine but with a bit of clear road we could be pumping pistons'. He was resentful of political embuggeration and did not exonerate the last Tory government. Kemi rather agreed with him. She thought Net Zero targets were nuts. She was at ease with these people. It was an easier gig for her, say, than a hall full of public sector workers. She recalled her own City days when she came to 'loathe compliance culture'. The room warmed to that. These were people whose lives are made a misery by human-resources nags. She attacked big corporate outfits that 'profited from bureaucracy'. Did she mean the 'big four' accountancy firms? The audience had not expected her to swipe at their bigger rivals. It gave a purr of approval. Time and again she attacked the 'bloated' state and a Labour cabinet that lacked business experience. A mention of Ms Reeves's fictitious curriculum vitae earned a laugh. Nigel Farage's lot wanted to nationalise industries, keep big benefit bills yet loosen tax bands. 'It's a scam. It's my job to expose this stuff. These are not serious people.' Kallum stroked his beard and pointed out that Reform was ahead in the opinion polls, with the Tories trailing in third place, a distant Austin Allegro with smoke billowing from its bonnet. Kemi: 'We have four years of Labour. From the way people are discussing the opinion polls you'd think there was an election next year. We have to tell people the truth.' Just before Christmas she had spoken to the Canadian Tory leader Pierre Poilievre, who at that point had a 23-point lead in the opinion polls. He has since lost both an election and his parliamentary seat. Things changed fast. Mrs Badenoch can be a dull performer. This time she was perkier. Maybe it was because she could say wonkish things and know that the audience would follow. Maybe it was because of 'events'. In the past fortnight Reform has had internal squabbles and taken a peculiar turn leftwards economically, while taking an anti-liberty step towards a burka ban. Has Mr Farage sacrificed both his authenticity and his cheerfulness? Then came Wednesday's spending review, with its mad billions and the inevitability of tax rises. Dreadful for the country but possibly a reprieve for Mrs Badenoch's Tories. 'It's going to be a revolution,' she said of her plans, breezily. 'We need to unleash animal spirits.' Animal spirits! Helen Whately, shadow welfare secretary, is more mouse than lion. Kemi feared 'the bond vigilantes' were circling over Ms Reeves. The Government's economic policy was 'in a death spiral' and this created a gap for the centre-right. 'That is the space I fill.' Coolly informal, she addressed them conversationally, more a colleague than a would-be political leader. 'I'm on your side,' she cooed, 'but I need you to be on mine, too.' She implored them to 'speak up' and 'tell your customers to speak up, too'. Was that a gurgling 'help, I'm drowning'? Or was it a sense, at last, that her refusal to panic in recent months might finally start to produce buds of a political recovery?
North Wales Chronicle
2 days ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Badenoch urges business leaders to ‘get on the pitch' and support Tories
The Conservative leader also appealed to business leaders to support her party, suggesting there was no credible alternative which would represent their interests. Speaking at the FTSE 250+ conference in central London, Mrs Badenoch said: 'My message to business is: I'm on your side, but I need you to be on mine too.' The Tory leader's appearance at the gathering came as the latest gross domestic product (GDP) figures showed the UK economy shrank more than expected, the day after the Government unveiled spending plans prioritising health and defence over the next few years. Speaking to an audience of business and investment chiefs, Mrs Badenoch hit out at Labour's tax rises, including the inheritance tax on family farms and national insurance employer contributions. She added: 'You need to support policies that back enterprise, and you need to challenge those who want more state control. 'Don't just wait for other politicians to do it. 'You need to get on the pitch too.' The Tory leader claimed the UK has 'forgot that business is a good in and of itself, and it pays for everything. It is the source of our prosperity'. Mrs Badenoch added: 'The challenge all of us in this room have now is that many people don't believe this anymore.' People instead believe 'business hoards wealth' and is 'greedy and needs to be taxed more', she said. Mrs Badenoch continued: 'This is a crisis. 'And the question before us is simple: Who has credible solutions? 'And I know many of you will be asking, 'Why should we trust the Conservative Party?' 'And I say because no-one is making the argument for business … except me and my party.' At PMQs I talked about Labour creating an economic spiral. A reminder we have 4 more years of this… — Kemi Badenoch (@KemiBadenoch) June 12, 2025 Mrs Badenoch's rallying call to businesses comes after the most recent political donations data showed a boost to the Tory war chest. The Conservatives raised nearly £3.4 million in the first quarter of 2025, the Electoral Commission revealed this week, outstripping Labour's £2.4 million and Reform UK's £1.5 million. Labour offers only 'managed decline', Mrs Badenoch also told business chiefs, before taking aim at Nigel Farage's Reform UK party. Mrs Badenoch appealed to the audience, signalling voters cannot 'allow Farage, with no experience of legislating – he's never in Parliament, let alone government – to just come in'. She added: 'Can you imagine 360 random people suddenly taking over government saying they are going to fix everything? 'We were there for 14 years, sweating and labouring, it was unbelievably difficult. 'How many of you would allow your businesses to be run by people who have never been in that business and say 'Come on in, I'm sure you can fix it'? 'That's what he's offering, it's not real. 'It is a scam, and it's my job to expose that scam.' A Reform UK spokesman said: 'Kemi admits they had 14 years and yet all they achieved was sky high taxes, low growth and open borders. 'The only scam is her telling the British public that the Tories have changed. 'It's the same people and the same old failed ideas. 'Quite simply, the Tory party is irrelevant.'
Leader Live
2 days ago
- Leader Live
Badenoch urges business leaders to ‘get on the pitch' and support Tories
The Conservative leader also appealed to business leaders to support her party, suggesting there was no credible alternative which would represent their interests. Speaking at the FTSE 250+ conference in central London, Mrs Badenoch said: 'My message to business is: I'm on your side, but I need you to be on mine too.' The Tory leader's appearance at the gathering came as the latest gross domestic product (GDP) figures showed the UK economy shrank more than expected, the day after the Government unveiled spending plans prioritising health and defence over the next few years. Speaking to an audience of business and investment chiefs, Mrs Badenoch hit out at Labour's tax rises, including the inheritance tax on family farms and national insurance employer contributions. She added: 'You need to support policies that back enterprise, and you need to challenge those who want more state control. 'Don't just wait for other politicians to do it. 'You need to get on the pitch too.' The Tory leader claimed the UK has 'forgot that business is a good in and of itself, and it pays for everything. It is the source of our prosperity'. Mrs Badenoch added: 'The challenge all of us in this room have now is that many people don't believe this anymore.' People instead believe 'business hoards wealth' and is 'greedy and needs to be taxed more', she said. Mrs Badenoch continued: 'This is a crisis. 'And the question before us is simple: Who has credible solutions? 'And I know many of you will be asking, 'Why should we trust the Conservative Party?' 'And I say because no-one is making the argument for business … except me and my party.' At PMQs I talked about Labour creating an economic spiral. A reminder we have 4 more years of this… — Kemi Badenoch (@KemiBadenoch) June 12, 2025 Mrs Badenoch's rallying call to businesses comes after the most recent political donations data showed a boost to the Tory war chest. The Conservatives raised nearly £3.4 million in the first quarter of 2025, the Electoral Commission revealed this week, outstripping Labour's £2.4 million and Reform UK's £1.5 million. Labour offers only 'managed decline', Mrs Badenoch also told business chiefs, before taking aim at Nigel Farage's Reform UK party. Mrs Badenoch appealed to the audience, signalling voters cannot 'allow Farage, with no experience of legislating – he's never in Parliament, let alone government – to just come in'. She added: 'Can you imagine 360 random people suddenly taking over government saying they are going to fix everything? 'We were there for 14 years, sweating and labouring, it was unbelievably difficult. 'How many of you would allow your businesses to be run by people who have never been in that business and say 'Come on in, I'm sure you can fix it'? 'That's what he's offering, it's not real. 'It is a scam, and it's my job to expose that scam.' A Reform UK spokesman said: 'Kemi admits they had 14 years and yet all they achieved was sky high taxes, low growth and open borders. 'The only scam is her telling the British public that the Tories have changed. 'It's the same people and the same old failed ideas. 'Quite simply, the Tory party is irrelevant.'
