Protesting Works! Gas Power Plant Will Not Be Built

After three years of opposition, climate activists managed to force a power station to call off its plan to build Europe’s largest gas power plant in North Yorkshire, United Kingdom.

Activists claimed that Drax’s construction of two combined cycle turbines (CCGTs) did not align with the country’s ambition to become the leader in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The 2.6GW plant would effectively sabotage the UK’s climate targets which are legally bound.

While Drax will not replace its two old coal-burning units with CCGTs, the company promised to stop the commercial sale of coal-fired electricity ahead of the government’s ban on coal power fixed for 2025, and plans on being carbon negative by 2030.