Standard content for Members only
To continue reading this article, please login to your Utility Week account, Start 14 day trial or Become a member.
If your organisation already has a corporate membership and you haven’t activated it simply follow the register link below. Check here.
Drax saw its share price tumble Wednesday morning following confirmation from Energy Secretary Amber Rudd that all unabated coal will be forced to close by 2025.
After a slightly weaker opening share price losses accelerated after 11.00 Wednesday morning as Rudd announced a crackdown on coal generation to fall over 4.75 per cent below Tuesday’s close to 216.35 pence.
The share price is now 25 per cent below trading levels seen two weeks ago when reports of the policy reset began to surface.
The generation giant has converted three of its six coal-fired power plants to biomass and recently confirmed a fourth conversion will follow. But two remaining units still rely on coal as a feedstock and could be impacted by today’s government policy ‘reset’.
Rudd said the government will launch a consultation on coal closures early in the next decade.
Under the plans, the use of coal plants will be restricted from 2023 and shut by 2025, a government statement said on Wednesday morning.
“It cannot be satisfactory for an advanced economy like the UK to be relying on polluting, carbon intensive 50-year-old coal-fired power stations. Let me be clear: this is not the future,” Rudd said.
Please login or Register to leave a comment.