North Yorkshire power generator Drax Group said its profit before tax fell roughly 21% to £222 million for the six months to June 30, 2026.

In his outlook, Drax Group CEO Will Gardiner wrote: “In the first half of 2026 we continued to play our role in supporting energy security in the UK and are positioning the group to do more through the development of our strategy for flexible and renewable generation.

“We have committed c.£0.5 billion to new BESS (Battery Energy Storage System) capacity which will enter service from late 2027 onwards, supporting an upgraded target for group adjusted EBITDA of £650-800 million in 2029, once fully operational and excluding development expenditure.

“In addition, our proposed acquisition of BSIF could add 0.9GW of solar and onshore wind, complementing our existing Flexgen portfolio operationally and financially, providing more certain revenues alongside the potentially higher but less predictable revenues from our Flexgen portfolio. The benefit of BSIF is not included in our revised targets for adjusted EBITDA.

“In aggregate, between BESS and BSIF, we have potential commitments of c.£1.6 billion. We believe this represents significant progress in the delivery of our strategy for growth, taken together with our existing OCGT developments would increase the group’s generation capacity by c.85%. In addition, we are continuing to develop a pipeline of further opportunities.

“Through a disciplined approach to capital allocation, we expect to create opportunities for investment in growth and value creation, underpinned by strong cash generation and attractive returns for shareholders.

“As we progress our plans we will continue to apply our capital allocation policy with a focus on balance sheet strength, investment in the core business, and a sustainable and growing dividend. To the extent there are residual cash flows beyond the current needs of the group, we will also consider additional returns to shareholders.”

First half dividend per share rose to 12.9p from 11.6p. Drax said it expects full year dividend to rise 11% to 32.2p.

Gardiner added: “Drax has delivered a good performance in the first half. Our colleagues and supply chain partners have been working hard to help keep the lights on for millions of UK households and businesses through a period of acute geopolitical uncertainty and challenging weather.

“We are at a key moment in Drax’s transition, investing to create a larger and broader portfolio with more MWs under management that can provide more power to the country when needed.

‘Over the years we have grown the business from a single-site biomass generator to a multi-site portfolio operating a broader range of generation technologies. Critically, through our growth plans for batteries, OCGTs and our Selby site, we are driving economic growth across the country, in alignment with the policy priorities of the UK Government.

‘We are also actively developing options for more renewables, including the proposed acquisition of Bluefield Solar Income Fund, and our trading and optimisation platform. Taken together we believe that these actions can support energy security and will increase the Group’s generation capacity by around 85% compared to 2025.

‘As a result, we expect to increase our earnings, deliver value for our stakeholders, support growth and attractive returns for shareholders.”