Drax cleared after investigation into sourcing of wood pellets

Generator’s shares rise as regulator finds no evidence of misleading statements about fuel’s sustainability The City watchdog has closed an investigation into the owner of the Drax power plant after an almost 10-month review into whether the company’s sustainability claims mislead shareholders. The Financial Conduct Authority said it had “reviewed thousands of pages” of “complex material” relating to the company’s sourcing of wood pellets for the Drax power plant in Selby, North Yorkshire, but “did not find evidence that justified any further action”. The regulator began the investigation last year into whether Drax’s annual reports and accounts between 2021 and 2023 misled shareholders or left out important information investors needed to know about the origins of its biomass fuel. Drax imports millions of tonnes of wood pellets from across the Atlantic every year which it burns to generate electricity. The company claims that its biomass is sourced from sustainably managed forests to provide a source of reliable renewable electricity. These claims were cast in doubt after a BBC Panorama documentary in 2022 found that Drax had cut down mature forests in Canada to turn into wood pe