The White Rose of York will appear on one of Drax Power Station’s 350ft tall cooling towers on Tuesday August 1 as the renewable energy leader joins with other businesses and community groups across the county to mark the annual event.
Drax Power Station is the UK’s single-largest renewable power generator, producing enough renewable electricity for around four million UK homes. Recently published research by Oxford Economics found the power station contributed £358m to the economy of Yorkshire and the Humber, with 2,580 jobs supported by the plant.
Drax now aims to deepen its commitment to the county in the years ahead through delivering the world’s biggest carbon capture in power project using bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) technology. The development of BECCS at the Selby plant could see up to 10,000 jobs supported at the project’s peak and will make a major contribution to the fight against climate change.
Bruce Heppenstall, Drax Power Station Plant Director said: “We’re proud to have been generating power for Yorkshire’s homes and businesses for almost half a century, so we wanted to do something special to celebrate Yorkshire Day.
“We all know this county has a rich industrial heritage, but at Drax we believe Yorkshire has a bright future too. That’s why we are progressing plans to build the world’s biggest carbon capture in power project at our plant near Selby, enabling the county to become a global leader in the vital green energy technology BECCS.
“By delivering this critical carbon removal technology, Drax will strengthen UK energy security, whilst creating thousands of jobs and exciting global export opportunities.”
Once operational, Drax’s two BECCS units combined will capture around 8 million tonnes of CO2 per year, making it the largest carbon capture and storage project in power in the world.
The White Rose will be projected onto the 350ft tall cooling tower at Drax Power Station from 9:00pm on Tuesday 1st August.
ENDS
Photo caption: The White Rose projection on Drax’s 350ft tall cooling tower will be visible for miles around.
Notes to editors:
Electricity has been generated at Drax since 1974 when it was developed by the Central Electricity Generating Board, in an area of Yorkshire known as Megawatt Valley due to a fleet of coal-fired power stations built there in the 1960s, 70s and 80s.
Drax was the biggest and one of the most advanced and efficient coal-fired power stations ever built in the UK. Nearly five decades on, the power station is the largest dispatchable renewable power station in the UK through its pioneering decarbonisation project to use biomass instead of coal. In March this year, almost 50 years of coal generation ended at Drax Power Station in a landmark moment for the plant, Yorkshire and the whole of the UK.
Giving back to Yorkshire and the Humber
The Drax Foundation was established in 2023 to provide grant funding for non-profit organisations and social enterprises that deliver lasting socio-economic impact in the heart of our communities. The Foundation has recently awarded almost £90,000 to:
- NYBEP (North Yorkshire Business and Education Partnership) who work with schools and businesses to develop STEM programmes
- Don Catchment Rivers Trust which offers Community-led conservation and nature-based STEM education for children
- Toranj Tuition, a Hull-based organisation established to stimulate social mobility and to facilitate equal opportunities for adults and children through our educational programmes.
The Foundation has also installed energy-efficient LED lighting to four local schools as part of a pilot of a wider £1.5 million energy efficiency initiative. These schools are:
- Barwic Parade Community Primary School in Selby
- Kirk Sandall Junior School in Doncaster
- Selby Abbey Primary School
- Triangle Primary School in Sowerby Bridge
Media contacts:
Aidan Kerr
Media Manager
E: [email protected]
T: 07849090368
About Drax
Drax Group’s purpose is to enable a zero carbon, lower cost energy future and in 2019 announced a world-leading ambition to be carbon negative by 2030, using bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) technology.
Drax’s around 3,000 employees operate across three principal areas of activity – electricity generation, electricity sales to business customers and compressed wood pellet production and supply to third parties. For more information visit www.drax.com
Power generation:
Drax owns and operates a portfolio of renewable electricity generation assets in England and Scotland. The assets include the UK’s largest power station, based at Selby, North Yorkshire, which supplies five percent of the country’s electricity needs.
Having converted Drax Power Station to use sustainable biomass instead of coal it has become the UK’s biggest renewable power generator and the largest decarbonisation project in Europe. It is also where Drax is piloting the groundbreaking negative emissions technology BECCS within its CCUS (Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage) Incubation Area.
Its pumped storage, hydro and energy from waste assets in Scotland include Cruachan Power Station – a flexible pumped storage facility within the hollowed-out mountain Ben Cruachan.
The Group also aims to build on its BECCS innovation at Drax Power Station with a target to deliver 4 million tonnes of negative CO2 emissions each year from new-build BECCS outside of the UK by 2030 and is currently developing models for North American and European markets.
Pellet production and supply:
The Group has 17 operational pellet plants and developments with nameplate production capacity of around 5 million tonnes a year.
Drax is targeting 8 million tonnes of production capacity by 2030, which will require the development of over 3 million tonnes of new biomass pellet production capacity. The pellets are produced using materials sourced from sustainably managed working forests and are supplied to third party customers in Europe and Asia for the generation of renewable power.
Drax’s pellet plants supply biomass used at its own power station in North Yorkshire, England to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses, and also to customers in Europe and Asia.
Customers:
Drax supplies renewable electricity to UK businesses, offering a range of energy-related services including energy optimisation, as well as electric vehicle strategy and management.
To find out more go to the website www.energy.drax.com
