Energy security requires pragmatism and Drax has an important role to play

The power station in Yorkshire produces around five per cent of the UK’s electricity. Subsidies were due to expire in 2027 but have been extended until 2031.

Drax Group chief executive Will Gardiner is right to herald the new framework as an “investment in UK energy security” that will support the delivery of the Government’s clean power by 2030 goal.

However, the support understandably comes with the caveat that Drax cannot be allowed to operate in the way it has until now, or with the level of subsidy it received in the past, which enabled Drax to make “unacceptably large profits”.

The Government says Drax will switch to only operating as “dispatchable power” when it is really needed, allowing wind and solar to be favoured when they are available.

This serves to highlight that pragmatism is going to be key in trying to achieve net zero.

It is not a simple case of favouring one or the other, but rather ensuring a robust energy mix so that the lights stay on, regardless of the actions of autocrats elsewhere in the world.

While critics continue to take aim at the sustainability of Drax’s burning of wood pellets, the company insists that its biomass is sustainable and legally harvested.

It is in Drax’s interest and that of the energy mix that it ensures that it tightens its supply chain to ensure that wood from primary forests is not burned.

A key part of the puzzle will be carbon capture and storage technology, which is still developing.