Government cranks handle again for group owning Yorkshire power plant because cheaper generating capacity not in place
UK halves subsidies for Drax and says it must use 100% sustainable wood
Surprise, surprise, a mighty £7bn of subsidies since 2012 have not been enough to get Drax to stand on its own feet. More bungs are required to keep the wood fires burning at the enormous power plant in North Yorkshire – this time an estimated £1.8bn from 2027-31.
The energy minister Michael Shanks at least sounded embarrassed. He railed against the “unacceptably large profits” Drax has made, said past subsidy arrangements “did not deliver a good enough deal for bill payers” and vowed that that the definition of a “sustainable” wood pellet would be tightened. But the bottom line is that the government has agreed to crank the subsidy handle once again, just at a slower rate.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
02/10/2025 - 12:00
Pesticide-backed proposed law that opponents call ‘Cancer Gag Act’ pits Iowa farm groups against each other
Pesticide company efforts to push through laws that could block litigation against them is igniting battles in several US farm states and pitting some farm groups against each other.
Laws have been introduced in at least eight states so far and drafts are circulating in more than 20 states, backed by a deluge of advertising supporting the measures.
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02/10/2025 - 10:19
Secondhand market thrived as sales of new EVs also reached highest levels to date, SMMT trade body says
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A record number of used electric vehicles (EVs) were sold in the UK last year, as prices eased and the choice of cars widened, according to industry data.
Total sales of used cars rose by 5.5% in 2024, as 7.6m vehicles changed hands, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Sales rose in every month last year, as they did in 2023.
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02/10/2025 - 10:00
v-Fluence halts operations after widespread backlash over private portal profiling environmental health advocates
A US company that was secretly profiling hundreds of food and environmental health advocates in a private web portal has said it has halted the operations in the face of widespread backlash, after its actions were revealed by the Guardian and other reporting partners.
The St Louis, Missouri-based company, v-Fluence, said it is shuttering the service, which it called a “stakeholder wiki”, that featured personal details about more than 500 environmental advocates, scientists, politicians and others seen as opponents of pesticides and genetically modified (GM) crops.
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02/10/2025 - 09:00
Exclusive: The new Queensland government reversed Labor’s decision to set limits on visitor numbers
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K’gari’s world heritage advisory committee (KWHAC) has advised the Queensland government the island’s ecology risks being “destroyed” by “overtourism”, putting pressure on the LNP’s promise not to cap visitation to the island.
The recommendation was contained in the body’s world heritage strategic plan released on Friday and contradicts the policy adopted by the new government.
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02/10/2025 - 07:57
Emmanuel Macron’s tech envoy warns attenders current trajectory of artificial intelligence is unsustainable
The impact of artificial intelligence on the environment and inequality have featured in the opening exchanges of a global summit in Paris attended by political leaders, tech executives and experts.
Emmanuel Macron’s AI envoy, Anne Bouverot, opened the two-day gathering at the Grand Palais in the heart of the French capital with a speech referring to the environmental impact of AI, which requires vast amounts of energy and resource to develop and operate.
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02/10/2025 - 07:45
Insurers blame ‘significant and consistent bad weather’ after year of 12 named storms
Insurers paid out a record £585m for weather-related damage to homes and possessions in Britain last year, after record-breaking rain and storms hit the country.
The data, from the Association of British Insurers (ABI), revealed that claims for damage to homes from windstorms, flooding and frozen pipes in 2024 surpassed the previous record in 2022, for the same types of claim, by £77m. The figure is £127m higher than the weather-related claims payouts for 2023.
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02/10/2025 - 05:00
On Qikiqtaruk, off Canada’s Yukon coast, scientists are wielding virtual-reality cameras, 3D models and digital archives to protect the island’s history and culture before it disappears
It was early July when the waters of the Beaufort Sea crept, then rushed, over the gravel spit of a remote Arctic island. For hours, the narrow strip of land, extending like the tail of a comma into the waters, gradually disappeared into the ocean.
When Canadian scientists on Qikiqtaruk (also known as Herschel Island), off the coast of Canada’s Yukon territory, surveyed the deluge, they saw a grimly comical scene unfold.
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02/10/2025 - 04:57
Tax breaks for critical minerals processing and green hydrogen production were waved through the senate on Monday evening
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A centrepiece of Labor’s Future Made in Australia plan has passed the Senate in a pre-election boost for Anthony Albanese.
The government’s $13.7bn worth of tax breaks for critical minerals processing and green hydrogen production cleared the upper house on Monday night with the support of the Greens and crossbenchers.
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02/10/2025 - 04:23
North Yorkshire power plant has been criticised for burning wood pellets sourced from US and Canadian forests
Nils Pratley: Drax is the subsidy show that goes on and on
The UK government has halved subsidies for the Drax power station and ordered it to use 100% sustainable wood after sustained criticism over its business model.
The large power plant in North Yorkshire would play a “much more limited role” in future, operating less than half as often as it currently does, the government said.
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