The Court of Appeal has upheld the government’s decision to grant planning permission to Drax to convert two of the coal units at its power station in North Yorkshire into combined-cycle gas turbines.
The judgement is the outcome of an appeal by the environmental law firm Client Earth, which had already lost one legal challenge in the High Court against the decision by the secretary of state for energy to grant a development consent order in 2019.
This was despite the Planning Inspectorate recommending that the 3.6GW project be rejected on climate change grounds in its report to the minister.
Client Earth lawyer Sam Hunter Jones said the latest ruling has nevertheless set an “important precedent” by affirming that major energy projects in the UK can be rejected on the basis of their impact on climate change.
“Following this judgment, decision-makers must now stop hiding behind planning policy to justify business-as-usual approvals of highly polluting projects,” he added.
“They need to engage with reality and take ownership of decisions that could make or break whether we achieve our long-term climate targets.
“Crucially, and contrary to Drax’s position at the planning inquiry, the judgment confirms that decision makers must consider a project’s carbon lock-in risk, that they can refuse permission on the basis of climate impacts, and that the public can raise these issues in planning inquiries.
“The secretary of state’s decision still stands and that’s problematic of course, but we believe that the judgment brings vital clarity to the meaning of national planning policy.”
Client Earth said the judgement will provide a “sound stating point” on which to improve energy planning policies through the upcoming National Policy Statement Review, adding: “Policies should be improved to take account of the net zero target and to avoid any possible risk of the secretary of state’s approach in this case being replicated in other decisions.
Hunter Jones also urged Drax itself to reconsider the plans, stating: “The climate and business case for large-scale gas power has only got worse since the Planning Inspectorate recommended Drax’s proposals be refused permission.
“The Climate Change Committee says that to get to net zero the UK needs a completely decarbonised power system by 2035 – that’s more than fifteen years before the end of this project’s expected operating life.
“Drax also needs to explain how this project squares with its own recent commitment to ‘flexible and renewable’ generation, if indeed it remains interested in taking it forward.”
Client Earth said it will not request a further appeal in the Supreme Court.
Drax said the installation of the new “high-efficiency” gas turbines remains subject to “a number of investment decisions and the project securing a Capacity Market agreement”.
A spokesperson for the company said: “Drax’s world-leading ambition to be carbon negative by 2030, using ground-breaking bioenergy with carbon capture and storage technology, means we could remove up to 16 million tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere each year, making a significant contribution to achieving the UK’s climate targets.
“Drax Power Station plays a vital role in the UK’s energy system, generating reliable electricity for millions of homes and businesses.”