Drax target of eco-protest

12:00pm Tuesday 20th June 2006

ECO-WARRIORS are to attempt to shut down Drax Power Station later this summer.

The Camp For Climate Action group intend to set up camp in "megawatt valley" south of Selby, an area which is home to Eggborough and Ferrybridge power stations, as well as Drax.

The group claims that thousands of people will take part in the protest, between August 26 and September 4.

Alison Templeton, a spokeswoman for Camp For Climate Action, said: "Climate change is already happening. We saw this with the massive floods in York in 2000. Drax continues to belch out emissions, while we're staring catastrophe in the face. It has to go there is going to be massive civil disobedience."

She said the group wanted to:

Ms Templeton said Camp For Climate Change was yet to finalise its attempt to shut down the station.

Melanie Wedgbury, a spokeswoman for Drax Power Station, said: "If we look at the energy mix in the UK, one of the key things people want is security of supply.

"Having a diverse mix of energy sources goes a long way to achieving that."

She said Drax was the biggest coal-fired power station in the country and the most efficient producing seven per cent of the UK's energy needs.

She said: "You have to ask, why are people looking to target the most efficient coal-fired plant in the UK?

"We take climate change very seriously. We've gone down the path of co-firing coal with bio-mass where coal is mixed with carbon-neutral fuel crops to decrease our carbon dioxide emissions.

"What we're asking for is a long-term regulatory regime which will allow us to invest in new technologies to cut emissions further."

A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said the area where the camp was planned bordered the North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire forces' jurisdictions.

He said he would have to investigate further to see which force would be responsible for policing the protest.