Business turns on UK government for green energy U-turns

Shares in Drax ticked up on Friday morning after the country’s biggest power station pulled the plug on a carbon capture project at the heart of UK efforts to combat climate change.


But that was a rare piece of good news on a day that saw investors, business groups and unions round on the government for what they said were the raft of “incoherent” and ill-considered green energy policy U-turns contributing to Drax’s decision.

“The government is scrapping all regulatory and price support mechanisms for green industries, seemingly without anything new, and better, to replace them,” said Ben Goldsmith, a renewable energy investor, and brother of Conservative MP, Zac Goldsmith.

“I hope they’ve got something cooking, because otherwise it’s pure idiocy to be killing off these fast-growing, exciting new industries just as they are reaching the point at which they are viable without any kind of support.” (by Pilita Clark, Environment Correspondent, Financial Times)