Big energy firms have the power to drive Britain's renewable revolution

Analysis: Scottish Power has ditched fossil fuels in favour of wind turbines – Josh Gabbatiss asks whether this is a greenwash or a gamechanger

Scottish wind power: by passing its remaining fossil fuel assets on to Drax, is Scottish Power just passing the buck? (Getty)

Amid warnings that we have just 12 years to save the world from climate change, fans of our planet’s continued survival will be pleased to hear that one of the UK’s biggest energy firms has decided to ditch fossil fuels. On Tuesday morning Scottish Power announced all of the electricity it generates in the future will come from wind turbines.

It sounds good on paper, but beyond the headline Scottish Power’s pledge looks a little less clear-cut. Rather than closing down its gas-fired power stations for good, it is selling them to Drax – a company that has faced a lot of criticism in the past for its green credentials.

Back in August, dozens of environmental groups urged the government not to support Drax’s conversion of an old Yorkshire coal station into the country’s largest gas plant. They feared investment in gas would “lock the UK into a high carbon future totally incompatible with our international obligations”.