Drax’s first EV customer, SES Water, has invested in 16 new charging points and is initially replacing 10 of its 120 strong fleet of diesel vans with electric vehicles. The switch will result in a carbon saving of 43 tonnes of CO2 per year and is another significant step forward in SES Water’s environmental commitments which last year saw the company switch to 100 per cent renewable electricity.
The comprehensive service provided to SES Water by Haven Power, part of Drax Group, includes charging infrastructure and operating software, the leasing of EVs, supporting devices such as vehicle telematics, and the renewable electricity needed to power the vehicles.
Drax, which is the biggest supplier of renewable electricity to businesses in the UK, will also supply SES Water with telematic systems to allow usage data from the trial to be monitored, paving the way for a broader roll out plan and potential ‘vehicle to grid’ trials at SES Water.
Henrietta Stock, Energy and Carbon Manager at SES Water said:
“Every day we use enough energy to power 13,000 homes so we are always looking at ways to balance the environmental impact of our essential activities and support the investment in renewable generation in the UK. We have already significantly reduced our carbon emissions over the last year and working with Drax has enabled us to create a bespoke EV solution so we can understand exactly how to save the most energy, further lowering both our carbon emissions and our costs”.
The service Drax is providing includes expert advice to determine what kind of vehicles and systems will work best for customers, analysis of different charging methods to minimise fleet downtime as well as data to help companies use their fleet efficiently.
Jonathan Kini, Drax Retail CEO, said:
“We know from supplying energy to our customers that no two businesses are alike, so a ‘one size fits all’ approach won’t deliver what they all need.
“Instead, we are working with customers like SES Water as an energy partner, to offer each of them a solution tailored to their specific needs. Giving them the optimal EV package will result in lower carbon emissions and costs, helping them to grow better businesses.”
Jonathan Kini, Drax Retail CEO
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According to research from Arval so far in the UK just 14% of businesses have switched at least one vehicle to electric. However, this is set to increase to 42% within 3 years.
Jonathan Kini added:
“EVs are still a relatively new technology and making the switch can be daunting. We can take the stress out of the process, so customers have confidence that the decisions they’re making will be good for the environment, as well as their business.”
As the UK power system continues to decarbonise, EVs are better than ever for reducing carbon emissions, making a greater contribution to global efforts to tackle climate change.
ENDS
Main image caption: L-R, Jonathan Kini, Drax Retail CEO, Adam Hall, Drax Electric Vehicle Lead, Henrietta Stock, SES Water Energy and Carbon Manager, Tom Kelly, SES Water Wholesale Director and Andy Davidson, SES Water Fleet Manager.
High resolution image (main photo): DOWNLOAD
Notes to Editors
Drax’s end-to-end Electric Vehicle proposition for businesses aims to make switching to EVs simple and easy for customers.
The service includes:
- Site assessment and civil work
- EV charging infrastructure
- Charging operating software
- Lease of EVs
- Vehicle telematics (e.g. GPS devices)
- Renewable electricity to supply vehicles
The Drax EV service includes the supply of 100% renewable energy from Haven Power.
Drax Group includes Haven Power and Opus Energy, making it the biggest supplier of renewable electricity to businesses in the UK.
In 2018, 69% of the 17.9TWh of power it sold to businesses was renewable.
Media contacts:
Ali Lewis
Drax Group Interim Head of Media & PR
E: [email protected]
T: 07712670888
Jessica Gorton
Drax Group Press Officer
E: [email protected]
T: 07712 677 177
General Enquiries:
Adam Hall
Drax Group EV Lead
E: [email protected]
T: 07736298171
About Drax:
Drax Group’s ambition is to enable a zero carbon, lower cost energy future. Its 2,600-strong staff operate across three principal areas of activity – electricity generation, electricity sales to business customers and compressed wood pellet production.
Power generation:
Drax owns and operates a portfolio of flexible, low carbon and renewable electricity generation assets across Britain. The assets include the UK’s largest power station, based at Selby, North Yorkshire, which supplies six percent of the country’s electricity needs.
Having converted two thirds of 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.
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. It also owns and operates four gas power stations in England.
B2B supply:
Drax owns two B2B energy supply businesses:
- Haven Power, based in Ipswich, supplies electricity and energy services to large Industrial and Commercial sector businesses.
- Opus Energy, based in Oxford, Northampton and Cardiff, provides electricity, energy services and gas to small and medium sized (SME) businesses.
Pellet production:
Drax owns and operates three pellet mills in the US South which manufacture compressed wood pellets (biomass) produced from sustainably managed working forests. These pellet mills supply around 20% of the biomass used by Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses.
For more information visit www.drax.com
About SES Water
SES Water supplies water to approximately 707,000 people in east Surrey, and parts of West Sussex, west Kent and south London. Our supply area is 322 square miles (835 sq km) extending from Morden and South Croydon in the north to Gatwick Airport in the south and from Cobham, Leatherhead and Dorking in the west to Edenbridge and Bough Beech in the east. Groundwater supplies provide 85 per cent of our water, with 15 per cent being extracted from one reservoir at Bough Beech near Edenbridge. For more information visit www.seswater.co.uk.
