Drax needs a better policeman

Public confidence in the UK biomass industry is low - robust checks are needed to ensure every wood pellet its power plant burns is sustainable

• MPs question value of billions in subsidies granted to Drax power plant

Even government ministers sounded embarrassed in February when they threw yet more subsidies at Drax, recipient of 6.5bn to date, to keep its wood-burning power plant open until 2031. Few people think the biomass industry can survive in the long term unless as-yet-untested carbon capture technology can be installed.

But the bizarre business of importing wood pellets from the US and Canada for incineration in North Yorkshire was given an extension because the UK's power system, now more reliant on wind and solar generation, also needs firm dispatchable" power that can be turned on and off in a hurry.