What’s Drax?
Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire was once the UK’s largest coal-fired power plant. Starting in 2003, it was gradually converted to run on biomass, and it now burns millions of tonnes of imported wood pellets every year.
This was sold as a green alternative to fossil fuels, and Drax has already pocketed billions in government subsidies on that basis.
But in reality, Drax’s green credentials are based on dodgy accounting – burning biomass for power in this way creates as much carbon pollution as coal or gas.
Drax is actually the UK’s single largest carbon emitter and world’s biggest tree burner (woody biomass burning power station). Drax’s actions have been repeatedly linked to driving environmental racism and causing huge amounts of harm to communities, forests and biodiversity.
Now Drax is now pushing for even more public money to fund unproven carbon capture technology.
The Drax 15 trial
Last summer, as far right violence spread across the country, the police chose to spend millions preventing a peaceful climate camp focusing on Drax from going ahead. Of the 25 people who were pre-emptively arrested, 15 have been charged with ‘going equipped to lock on’ and will stand trial at Leeds Magistrates Court this autumn, starting on 22 September and expected to last until 2nd October.
The 15 protesters were arrested preemptively, whilst planning a peaceful protest camp against Drax, the UK’s single largest carbon emitter – now emitting more than the next four largest UK polluters combined and more than the six most carbon-intensive gas power plants put together.
This is part of an escalating pattern of state repression, silencing of peaceful protest and distracting attention from the real harms our government is complicit in.
Join us in Leeds to stand in solidarity with the Drax 15 and to show Drax we will continue to exercise our right to peaceful protest and speak out about their dirty tricks.
The Drax 15: in solidarity with affected communities resisting environmental and health injustices
Drax power station in North Yorkshire burns wood pellets shipped from Mississippi in the U.S. Trees are milled and processed at the Drax plant in Gloster, Mississippi, creating significant local air pollution, before being burnt in the UK.
Drax has multiple times been fined for air pollution violations: $2.5 million in 2020 —one of the largest air-pollution fines in state history —and again last year for emitting more than 50% of its permitted limit of toxic chemical pollutants.
The Drax 15 stand in solidarity with Greater Greener Gloster, a community response to local environmental and public health injustices related to the Drax Biomass facility in Gloster, Mississippi which opened there in 2016. A recent community action took the residents of Gloster to state capital Jackson, where they spoke against a Drax application to increase emissions limits. They won and Drax was denied any increases. Greater Greener Gloster seeks justice for the damages associated with the air pollution affecting the underserved community – watch their stories here.
Details and logistics
Please join us outside the court for the first day of the trial on Monday 22 September from 09:00. We’ll be back again throughout the trial.
Also join our rally outside Drax’s lobbyists, Grayling, on Monday 22 September at 12:00, and our phone blockade on Tuesday 23. More details here.
We welcome anyone that is able to be present outside the court on any day of the trial in solidarity with the defendants, so please do join us to support across any of the trial days if you are local to Leeds or aren’t able to join on Monday 22nd or Monday 29th Sept.
Crowdfunder
We need your support to cover legal fees and court-related expenses for the Drax 15.
We rely on donations to fund our movement. Given the importance of fighting back against the state’s attempts to restrict our right to protest, we are appealing for funds to support the Drax 15.
Expenses include:
- Legal fees for the defendants not eligible for legal aid
- Travel costs to Leeds for the defendants and their friends and family
- Food for the defendants during the trial
Any amount you can give, big or small, will make a meaningful difference to the defendants and the movement.
Any surplus from this crowdfunder will be used to continue Reclaim the Power’s work of taking on Drax and fighting for climate, social, and economic justice.