Joe Crowley

2 months ago | bbc.com | Joe Crowley

Power station's further reporting failure exposed by BBCGetty ImagesDrax failed to report the burning of wood from primary forests in Canada, BBC News foundA UK power station that has received billions of pounds in government subsidies has failed more than once to report it burned wood from primary forests, BBC News has found. Drax Power Station, which burns wood pellets, is required to report where it sources its wood and whether it is from natural, previously untouched forests.

Dec 9, 2024 | ca.finance.yahoo.com | Joe Crowley |Jonathan Coffey

One of England's top-rated water companies is using an accounting trick to artificially inflate its balance sheet by more than a billion pounds, BBC Panorama has discovered. Severn Trent Water claims that an investment is worth £1.68bn in its accounts, when in reality it has no value to the overall business. The made-up money makes the company appear more financially robust and helps to support its bumper payouts to shareholders.

Oct 16, 2024 | ca.news.yahoo.com | Joe Crowley

A water company repeatedly dumped millions of litres of raw sewage illegally into one of England's most famous lakes over a three-year period, the BBC can reveal. More than 140 million litres of waste were pumped into Windermere between 2021 and 2023 at times when it was not permitted, our analysis shows, and United Utilities failed to report most of it. It means the company's illegal dumping of sewage into the lake went on for far longer, and was far more extensive, than was previously known.

Feb 27, 2024 | news.yahoo.com | Joe Crowley

A power company that has received £6bn in UK green subsidies has kept burning wood from some of the world's most precious forests, the BBC has found. Papers obtained by Panorama show Drax took timber from rare forests in Canada it had claimed were "no go areas". It comes as the government decides whether to give the firm's Yorkshire site billions more in environmental subsidies funded by energy bill payers. Drax says its wood pellets are "sustainable and legally harvested".

Dec 4, 2023 | bbc.co.uk | Joe Crowley |Joe CrowleyBbc Panorama

Water companies can make sewage pollution disappear from the official figures, a BBC Panorama investigation has revealed. Leaked documents suggest one firm, United Utilities, wrongly downgraded dozens of pollution incidents in north-west England last year. The Environment Agency signed off all the downgrades without attending any of the incidents. United Utilities denies misreporting pollution. Water companies in England are set environmental targets by the regulator, Ofwat.