Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the value for money of the new Contract for Difference awarded to Drax Power Station compared with alternative (a) low-carbon generation and (b) storage technologies.

The National Energy System Operator (NESO) has provided analysis that without large-scale biomass, we could face increased security of supply risks from 2027 to 2031.

Alternative low carbon generation such as wind or solar power, need to be supplemented with dispatchable generation to ensure security of supply.

Government has secured the best value for money deal to provide the dispatchable capacity required. Our analysis estimates that the alternative option of procuring the required capacity through the capacity market, which storage technologies bid into, would cost in the region of £170m more per year than the new arrangement with Drax.