Surprise, surprise, a mighty £7bn of subsidies since 2012 have not been enough to get Drax to stand on its own feet. More bungs are required to keep the wood fires burning at the enormous power plant in North Yorkshire. The energy minister Michael Shanks at least sounded embarrassed. He railed against the “unacceptably large profits” Drax has made, said past subsidy arrangements “did not deliver a good enough deal for bill payers” and vowed that that the definition of a “sustainable” wood pellet would be tightened. But the bottom line is that the government has agreed to crank the subsidy handle once again, just at a slower rate. Why? As he didn’t quite put it, Drax has us over a barrel if we’re not prepared to use more gas to generate electricity. A renewables-heavy system needs firm, reliable power as backup. Transporting wood pellets from North America to burn in Yorkshire is deemed the solution.