Overview
- The Financial Conduct Authority closed its investigation on Thursday after a roughly ten-month review that examined thousands of pages of material and interviews and concluded there was no evidence to justify further regulatory action.
- The probe focused on whether Drax’s investor-facing reporting for 2021–2023—covering activity from January 2022 to March 2024—misstated or omitted material information about the sourcing of Canadian wood pellets.
- Whistleblower allegations by former Drax public affairs chief Rowaa Ahmar, made during an employment tribunal, triggered the scrutiny and were followed by a settlement between Ms Ahmar and Drax shortly after the claim was filed.
- Drax said it cooperated with the FCA and remains confident the wood it burns is legally harvested and sustainable, while the North Yorkshire plant supplies about 5% of the UK’s electricity and will receive reduced government subsidies after 2027 under a new deal that includes a windfall-profit mechanism.
- Environmental groups and North Yorkshire Green councillors continue complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority and press wider sustainability and planning challenges that lie outside the FCA’s remit and could affect future policy and subsidy decisions.