Drax Power Station, located near Selby in North Yorkshire, will project a poppy display onto one of its 114-metre-tall cooling towers. The tribute will be visible on Remembrance Sunday (November 10) and Armistice Day (November 11) from 6pm to midnight.
This year’s projection marks the fifth time Drax has paid tribute in this way, with members of the public able to view the display from the Drax Sports and Social Club parking area, located across from the power station.
Bruce Heppenstall, Plant Director at Drax, said:
“We are proud to continue supporting the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal, and this projection is our way of honouring the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.
“Many of our team at Drax are veterans, and we understand the deep significance of this weekend. It’s a moment to reflect on the sacrifices of those no longer with us, as well as to support those who continue to serve and transition to civilian life. By supporting the Poppy Appeal, we help provide vital support to veterans and their families offering financial, social, and emotional assistance where it’s needed most.”
Gavin Kirk is one of the veterans who now works at Drax as a Technical Training Co-ordinator and helped to organise the Poppy Appeal at the power station this year.
The ex-Army Warrant Officer completed 23 years’ service, finishing his Military career in 2018 having served with both the Parachute Regiment and Royal Army Physical Training Corps (RAPTC) who helped to organise the Poppy Appeal at the power station this year.
“I’m proud to work for an organisation that supports the Royal British Legion having witnessed first-hand their support to some of my Military Comrades post serving in the Military,” he said. “There are a few ex-Armed Forces personnel working at Drax, as well as several Army Reserves. The help the Legion provides for veterans like me is fantastic, with many of us relying on this support to help transition to civilian lives.”
ENDS
Photo caption: L-R: Andy Lewis, Gav Kirk, Bruce Heppenstall (Drax Power Station Plant Director), Louie Munton and Christian Reeve.
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Kieran Wilson
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About Drax
Drax’s purpose is to enable a zero carbon, lower cost energy future. Our strategic aims are to be a global leader in both carbon removals and sustainable biomass pellet production, and to be a UK leader in dispatchable, renewable generation.
Our operations
Drax owns and operates a portfolio of flexible, low-carbon and renewable UK power assets – biomass, hydro, and pumped storage generation – which provide dispatchable power and system support services to the electricity grid.
We are the UK’s largest source of renewable power by output, and Drax Power Station is the UK’s largest single source of renewable electricity by output.
Through our pellet production facilities in North America, Drax is the world’s second largest producer of sustainable biomass. Drax has 18 operational and development pellet production sites which will have a nameplate capacity of around 5.4 million tonnes once expansions are complete.
Drax supplies renewable electricity to UK industrial and commercial customers, offering a range of energy-related services including energy optimisation, as well as electric vehicle strategy and management.
Our future
Drax is progressing options for carbon removals using bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) technology globally and at our UK biomass power station. We are progressing plans to develop 7 million tonnes of carbon removals through BECCS by 2030.
In 2024, we launched Elimini, a US-based company to lead our global efforts to deliver carbon removals at megaton scale. Elimini’s purpose is to remove carbon for good. To achieve this, it is convening engineers, environmentalists, communities, investors, and innovators to scale the market for carbon removals, with the aspiration of transforming our economies from carbon emitters to carbon removers. For more information, visit elimini.com.
