Yesterday the first witness was called by the prosecution - Raymond Smith, former plant manager at the Ratcliffe on Soar power station.  The defence probed him on E.ON's record on sustainability.

Yesterday the first witness was called by the prosecution – Raymond Smith, the former plant manager at the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station, on duty at the time of the arrests.

As the defence questioned Mr Smith, it emerged that during the week of the intended action the power station was working at a much lower capacity than normal. Mr Smith confirmed his original statement, in which he states that the reason for this was due to ‘market conditions and system demands’. In more simple terms, the power station runs according to whatever is most profitable at any given time, demonstrating the lack of concern for the environmental consequences.

When questioned further Mr Smith confirmed that E.ON bases its choice to use coal, the highest emitting fossil fuel, on its potential profit. The court will hear more about the devastating effects of burning coal when Jim Hansen, Director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and Adjunct Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University’s Earth Institute gives evidence on Monday. E. ON’s greenwashing is further evident when we compare Mr Smith’s statement on E. ON’s commitment to increasing their efficiency, with the rise in CO2 emissions at Ratcliffe by 870,000 tonnes between 2007-2008.