- First round of funding from the Drax Community Fund will see donations given to 33 organisations across the UK.
- Organisations that will receive funds include Grace Cook Primary School and Nursery and The Shelley Centre for Therapeutic Riding in Ipswich.
Renewable energy leader, Drax Group has announced the support it will provide to community organisations local to its operations though its new Community Fund, launched in 2023.
Drax’s Community Fund provides donations of up to £2,000 in the first round of funding for a variety of projects which support local communities.
Drax Energy Solutions, a B2B energy supplier is based in Ipswich, which works with businesses to help them use energy more sustainably, supporting their net zero ambitions.
Brendan Clark, Director of Drax Energy Solutions, said: “We take great pride in supporting a variety of organisations in Ipswich, from assisting Grace Cook Primary School and Nursery in developing outdoor spaces to aiding The Shelley Centre for Therapeutic Riding in purchasing and installing a new field shelter for their horses. Our donations aim to foster inclusivity, well-being, and community spirit throughout our local area.”
Ipswich projects that will receive donations include:
- Grace Cook Primary School and Nursery: The organisation is seeking funding to develop our outdoor spaces in the next academic year, in order to support teaching and physical/mental wellbeing.
- The Shelley Centre for Therapeutic Riding: Funding to purchase and install a new field shelter for the horses at the centre that looks to provide the opportunity to ride, or simply have sensory contact with horses, for people of all ages living with a disability.
Anne MacWillson, Coach at The Shelley Centre for Therapeutic Riding, said:
“The Shelley Centre for Therapeutic Riding is thrilled to receive a donation from the Drax Community Fund. Through our services, we provide therapy and sensory contact for all ages and disabilities, and we’ve seen that riding really does make a difference to people’s lives.
“This funding will go towards a new saddle for one of our newly arrived ponies, so that we can continue to support underserved groups through our therapeutic riding.”
To find out more about the Drax Community Fund and how to apply for funding, go to the website.
Notes to editors:
Drax Foundation, launched last March and awards larger grants of up to £50,000 for established, non-project organisations.
Drax recently announced the Community Foundation has given £2.7m in charitable giving for regional programmes and grassroots projects globally, of which £1.3m went to UK projects.
ENDS
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About Drax
Drax Group’s (Drax) 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 c.3,500 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 four 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. It is also where Drax is piloting the 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 18 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
