Green zealots’ red faces
They stage anti-gas demo at power station bosses’ office ... then learn it’s now home to eco-friendly firm instead!
MORE than 200 climate change activists chained themselves to an office building yesterday – only to find it belonged to a leading renewable energy firm.
Activists from a group called Reclaim the Power in white boiler suits chanted ‘revolution’ and locked themselves to the doors of a building they believed belonged to Drax.
The energy firm wants to build a giant gas plant in Yorkshire but had moved to another part of London more than a year ago.
The building is now home to Statkraft, a specialist in solar and wind power which is described as Europe’s largest generator of renewable energy.
Brandishing hand-written banners saying ‘dirty Drax’ and ‘no borders, no nation, no gas power station’, some of the group used bicycle D-locks to attach themselves to the office doors in Moorgate in the City.
But workers at Statkraft were perplexed to be blocked from entering their office from around 8am. One said: ‘They had blocked the front and back entrance. I tried to tell some that Drax had moved out but they said something about undercover police trying to persuade them to move on so they wouldn’t believe me. We would have thought they would be quite happy with our energy.
‘It’s important to get your facts right if you are organising a large number of people.’ After around five hours, the protesters finally admitted their mistake and moved to the new London base of Drax, a short walk away near St Paul’s Cathedral.
Protesters also targeted the site of SSE’s new Keadby 2 gas power plant in Lincolnshire, which is under construction. The huge Drax biomass and coal-fired plant near Selby, North Yorkshire, has been criticised over air pollution.
The firm has applied to convert two generating units to a giant gas-fired power station. A decision is expected later this year.
At the protest in London, campaigner Milo Phillips said: ‘Drax’s gas plant would be the largest gas power station ever built in the UK.
‘Drax and Keadby are the first in a possible new generation of dirty mega-projects, built to pollute for decades.’
Reclaim the Power did not respond to requests for comment on targeting the wrong office.
A spokesman for Drax said: ‘Natural gas has an important role in supporting the growth of renewables like wind and solar.
‘Building new, more efficient gas power stations will help the UK to meet its climate objectives while ensuring homes and businesses have the power they need at a price they can afford.’