Archives: Press Release

Drax starts operations at Leola satellite pellet plant in Arkansas

10 February 2022

News

Leola, in Grant County, Arkansas is part of a $40 million investment by Drax in the state, creating approximately 30 new direct jobs across all the three sites planned for Arkansas as well as many more indirect jobs.

Including Leola, Drax’s operates six pellet plants in the US, which use biomass sourced from sustainably managed working forests in Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi. The pellets are used at Drax Power Station in England to generate renewable electricity for millions of UK homes and businesses.

Drax’s conversion of its UK power station to sustainable biomass from coal was Europe’s largest decarbonisation project, reducing emissions from Drax’s power generation by 90% since 2012. Sustainable biomass is enabling Drax’s plans to deploy bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) – a pioneering negative emissions technology which permanently removes millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Matt White, Drax Executive Vice President, Pellet Operations said:

“Drax has made excellent progress in delivering our $40m investment in Arkansas, with Leola – the first of three planned satellite pellet plants – now in operation.

“The investments we’re making will bring 30 direct jobs and many more indirect jobs and opportunities to rural communities in Arkansas alongside supporting international efforts to tackle climate change. These plants support Drax’s plans to develop bioenergy with carbon capture and storage – a vital negative emissions technology that will be needed around the world to tackle the climate emergency.”

The three satellite plants in Arkansas are expected to produce a total of around 120,000 tonnes of sustainable biomass pellets a year from sawmill residues. This supports Drax’s plans to double its pellet production capacity to 8 million tonnes by 2030 to meet its own requirements, as well as its customers’ needs in Europe and Asia, amid an expected increase in global demand for the low-carbon fuel.

The satellite plants are located near sawmills, so they can use the sawdust and other by-products produced when timber is processed, to make the pellets. Siting the pellet facilities near sawmills reduces infrastructure, operational, and transportation costs.

Construction of the second Arkansas satellite plant in Russellville, Pope County is underway with commissioning expected this year. Drax is continuing to develop plans for a third plant.

Picture caption: Aerial view of the Drax Leola pellet plant site in Grant County, Arkansas.

Media contacts:

Selina Williams
Media Manager
E: [email protected]
T: +44 7912 230 393

Editor’s Notes

  • The sustainable biomass pellets produced at the new satellite plants will be transported to Bruce Oakley terminal in Little Rock, Ark. before being shipped south to Louisiana to oceangoing vessels.
  • Each pellet plant is expected to produce 40kt per year, with the cluster expected to produce120kt per year in total.
  • In addition to Leola, Drax has 13 operational pellet plants across the US South and Western Canada with nameplate capacity of c.4Mt, plus a further plant currently commissioning (in Demopolis, Alabama), with other developments/expansions which will increase production capacity to c.5Mt.
  • The pellets are produced using materials sourced from sustainably managed working forests and are supplied to Drax’s power station in the UK and third-party customers in Europe and Asia to generate renewable power.
  • In 2020, around 43% of the material used to produce the pellets used to generate renewable power at Drax Power Station came from sawmill residues (sawdust and other by-products). The rest came from low-grade material such as treetops, limbs and misshapen and diseased trees not suitable for other use and thinnings – small trees removed to maximise the growth of the forest.

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.

Its 3,400 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 4Mt 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 13 operational pellet plants with nameplate capacity of c.4Mt, plus a further two plants currently commissioning and other developments/expansions which will increase this to c.5Mt once complete.

Drax is targeting 8Mt of production capacity by 2030, which will require the development of over 3Mt 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 mills supply around 30% of the biomass used at its own power station in North Yorkshire, England to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses.

Customers:  

Drax is the largest supplier of renewable electricity to UK businesses, supplying 100% renewable electricity as standard to more than 370,000 sites through Drax and Opus Energy.

It offers 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

North American sustainable biomass pellet producers Pinnacle and Drax Biomass rebrand to Drax

9 February 2022

News

Drax Group acquired Pinnacle, which has operations across British Columbia and Alberta in Canada and Alabama in the US, last year. Drax’s existing operations in the US South were known as Drax Biomass.

Drax Group has 17 pellet plants and developments in the US and Canada, which use byproducts from sustainably managed working forests, such as sawmill and forestry residues, for pellet feedstock. The pellets are used at Drax Power Station in England to generate renewable electricity for millions of UK homes and businesses or are sold to customers in Europe and Asia seeking to decarbonise their power sectors to meet their climate commitments.

Staff at the Drax Meadowbank site

Drax is also developing a pioneering negative emissions technology – bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) which permanently removes millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The world’s leading climate scientists at the UN’s IPCC say BECCS is critical to addressing the climate emergency.

Matt White, Executive Vice President, Pellet Operations

Drax’s Executive Vice President of Pellet Operations Matt White said:

“Last year’s acquisition of Pinnacle advanced Drax’s strategy to increase sustainable biomass production capacity and reduce costs, creating the world’s leading biomass generation and supply business that is well placed to play a critical role in helping countries to meet net zero.

“We have made good progress integrating Pinnacle and this rebrand will provide a firm foundation for the business to meet the expected growth in global demand for sustainable biomass and our negative emissions technology BECCS.”

Drax plans to increase its annual pellet production capacity to 8 million tonnes by 2030 from around 4 million tonnes currently and is doubling global pellet sales to 4Mt by 2030 to meet an expected increase in global demand for the low-carbon fuel.

Drax is the UK’s largest source of renewable power by output, and the UK’s largest supplier of renewable electricity to businesses. The conversion of Drax Power Station to use sustainable biomass instead of coal was Europe’s largest decarbonisation project and reduced the company’s generation emissions by over 90% in under a decade.

ENDS

Top image image: Staff installing the new signage at the Drax Prince George site

Media contacts:

Karen Brandt
Communications, Canada
E:  [email protected]
T: +1 250 510 0545

Selina Williams
Media Manager
E: [email protected]
T: +44 7912 230 393

Editor’s Notes

  • Drax’s compressed wood pellets are produced using materials sourced from sustainably managed working forests.
  • In 2020, around 43% of the material used to produce the pellets used to generate renewable power at Drax Power Station in the UK came from sawmill residues (sawdust and other byproducts).
  • The rest came from low-grade forestry residuals and byproducts such as treetops, limbs and misshapen and diseased trees not suitable for other use and thinnings – small trees removed to maximise the growth of the forest.
  • Drax is rebranding the pellet mills it fully owns and is working with joint-venture partners at the six pellet mills it has interests in to ensure they are also branded appropriately.
  • Drax has interests in Canadian plants in Houston, Smithers, High Level and Lavington and US plants Aliceville and Demopolis in Alabama.

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.

Its 3,400 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 4Mt 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 13 operational pellet plants with nameplate capacity of c.4Mt, plus a further two plants currently commissioning and other developments/expansions which will increase this to c.5Mt once complete.

Drax is targeting 8Mt of production capacity by 2030, which will require the development of over 3Mt 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 mills supply around 30% of the biomass used at its own power station in North Yorkshire, England to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses.

Customers: 

Drax is the largest supplier of renewable electricity to UK businesses, supplying 100% renewable electricity as standard to more than 370,000 sites through Drax and Opus Energy.

It offers 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

Drax celebrates National Apprenticeship Week with masterclass for students and teachers

1 February 2022

News

Drax is partnering with local schools during National Apprenticeship Week (7th-11th February) as part of its commitment to helping young people kickstart their careers.

The energy company is offering interactive sessions for students and teachers in years 11-13 to raise awareness of the apprenticeships that Drax and other businesses have to offer.

The sessions will include an overview of everything related to apprenticeships and the opportunities that are available, tips for the application process and a Q&A session with some of Drax’s own apprentices. Students will also receive a writing guide to help them develop or polish up their CVs.

Karen McKeever, Drax’s Chief HR Officer, said: “National Apprenticeship Week is a great opportunity to demonstrate the value of apprenticeships and highlight them as a potential career pathway.

This year’s theme for National Apprenticeship Week of ‘Build the Future’ is especially important to Drax as we strive to equip our region’s workforce with the education and skills needed to work on climate-saving technologies like bioenergy with carbon capture (BECCS).”

Sarah Mulholland, Head of Policy at the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said: “Net zero has the potential to unlock massive economic benefits across the north, particularly in the Humber – but we can only unlock that opportunity through investment in skills.

Businesses like Drax are leading the charge in this area and this initiative will help create a pipeline of workers for green jobs such as in BECCS and other new technologies.

Ultimately, levelling up boils down to creating well-paid jobs across all northern towns and cities, while giving local people the education, skills and transport they need to reach those jobs.”

Last year, Drax announced its Mobilising a Million initiative, which aims to increase social mobility by creating opportunities to support education and improve employability, ensuring the country has the skilled workforce needed to support a post-covid, green economic recovery.

These workshops build on this campaign by encouraging young people to consider the career options available to them, answer any questions they may have and give them the opportunity to hear first-hand from current apprentices.

The ‘Apprenticeships at Drax: What You Need to Know’ sessions will take place on Wednesday 9th February. Teachers and students can register to take part online.

Drax’s long-running apprenticeship scheme is part of its commitment to developing new talent as well as upskilling the workforce across the region. Drax has 52 apprentices as well as 50 existing employees working towards apprenticeship qualifications within the business.

Drax also recently transferred some of its apprenticeship levy to allow smaller local businesses to hire apprentices as part of its commitment to supporting the communities near to its operations.

Photo caption: Some of Drax’s award winning apprentices Ben Senior, Callum O’Grady and Cameron Shipstone

ENDS

Media contacts:

Megan Hopgood
Communications Officer
E: [email protected]
T: 07936 350 175

Editor’s Notes

Drax has been running an apprenticeship scheme for almost two decades at its eponymous power station in North Yorkshire. In recent years it has extended this across the whole business in the UK, as well as offering internships and graduate schemes as part of its dedication to improving skills and increasing opportunities for young people. For more details go to www.drax.com/careers.

Drax’s craft apprenticeship scheme gives new recruits the opportunity to gain skills and expertise by working alongside highly qualified engineers. It is a four-year programme, and specialises in three engineering disciplines: Mechanical, Electrical and Control & Instrumentation. In addition to engineering disciplines, Drax also offers apprenticeship qualifications in business support areas such as HR, cyber security, and administration. For current vacancies, go to https://www.drax.com/careers/apprenticeships/.

Drax runs a number of other initiatives to support STEM education and skills, including:

Drax plans to deploy the pioneering negative emissions technology, bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) at its power station in North Yorkshire. If successful, Drax could develop two BECCS units by 2030, capturing and storing at least 8 million tonnes of CO2 a year.

BECCS at Drax would support over 10,000 jobs at its peak, which is why it is vital that the region’s workforce has the skills needed to implement this green energy technology, enabling the UK to meet its 2050 net zero target whilst generating the renewable electricity the country needs.

Drax has partnered with Selby College to develop the UK’s first educational programme in carbon capture to help ensure that the region has the skilled workforce needed to operate the vital climate saving technology BECCS.

Drax announced its Mobilising a Million initiative in January 2021, when it published its Opportunity Action Plan in partnership with the Social Mobility Pledge led by former Education Secretary, the Rt Hon Justine Greening.

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.

Its 3,400 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 4Mt 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 13 operational pellet plants with nameplate capacity of c.4Mt, plus a further two plants currently commissioning and other developments/expansions which will increase this to c.5Mt once complete.

Drax is targeting 8Mt of production capacity by 2030, which will require the development of over 3Mt 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 mills supply around 30% of the biomass used at its own power station in North Yorkshire, England to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses.

Customers: 

Drax is the largest supplier of renewable electricity to UK businesses, supplying 100% renewable electricity as standard to more than 370,000 sites through Drax and Opus Energy.

It offers 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

Drax partners with local businesses to increase career opportunities for young people

18 January 2022

News

Renewable energy company Drax has partnered with businesses local to its operations to help them hire new talent as part of the company’s commitment to supporting education and upskilling.

To help smaller businesses take on apprentices and increase opportunities for young people, Drax has transferred a proportion of its apprenticeship levy to two smaller businesses, construction and equipment company The Bennie Group, based in Northampton, and Hull based EN: Able Futures CIC, which connects young people with apprenticeship opportunities in the construction sector.

Karen McKeever, Drax’s Chief HR Officer, said: “Drax is committed to championing and supporting people in their early careers. Hiring and developing a talented workforce of the future is essential for businesses like ours and we’re pleased to be able to support companies with similar values to us, as well as helping young people in the areas local to our operations to kickstart their careers. We hope this will be a great opportunity for both the company and the apprentices starting out in the industry.”

Matthew Ayres, Group MD of The Bennie Group said: “We are thrilled to have partnered with Drax to deliver two new apprenticeship roles within our equipment solutions business, Bennie Equipment. We would like to thank Drax for their support, which has enabled us to take on additional apprentices and further spread the net of opportunity for these young people.

“We are proud to share the same passion in supporting the next young generation of UK workers in learning a trade, developing practical skills, and kick-starting a career. We are both focused on boosting highly skilled workers across the UK and inspiring the next generation of the UK workforce.”

Keith Holiday, age 19 and Harvey Dobson, age 16 from Hull have started Civil Engineering apprenticeships at Alan Wood & Partners, facilitated by EN: Able Futures as a result of the levy transfer.

Keith said: “My apprenticeship is going really well. At Alan Wood & Partners I’ve been involved in a variety of projects already and I’m learning something new every day. I’ve always been interested in design and I think this apprenticeship will open up a lot of different options for me.”

Julie Deeley, Director of Operations at EN:Able Futures said: “It’s fantastic that Drax has shared its apprenticeship levy with EN:Able Futures, without it Keith and Harvey would not have been able to start their apprenticeships which could have meant them following a completely different career path, one which they may not have enjoyed as much as they are enjoying working at Alan Wood & Partners.

“Nationally the number of apprenticeship starts are falling and EN:Able Futures is working hard to create as many new apprenticeships in construction, housing and civil engineering as possible, helping to generate new career opportunities that help people achieve their aspirations.”

Drax’s long-running apprenticeship scheme is part of its commitment to developing new talent as well as upskilling the workforce across the region. Drax has 52 apprentices as well as 50 existing employees working towards apprenticeship qualifications within the business.

ENDS

Media contacts:

Megan Hopgood
Communications Officer
E: [email protected]
T: 07936350175

Editor’s notes

Drax has been running an apprenticeship scheme for almost two decades at its eponymous power station in North Yorkshire and in recent years has extended this across the whole business as well as offering internships and graduate schemes as part of its dedication to improving skills and increasing opportunities for young people across the region.

Drax runs a number of other initiatives to support STEM education and skills, including:

Applications are now open for Drax’s next work experience for students in Y10-Y12 or S4-S6 in Scotland. For more details go to www.drax.com/careers. The closing date is 23rd January 2022.

Drax recently launched a major public consultation at its North Yorkshire power station to advance its plans to deploy the pioneering negative emissions technology, bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS). If successful, Drax could develop two BECCS units by 2030, capturing and storing at least 8 million tonnes of CO2  a year.

Scaling up BECCS at Drax would support over 10,000 jobs at its peak which is why it is vital that the region’s workforce has the skills needed to implement this green energy technology, enabling the UK to meet its 2050 net zero target whilst generating the renewable electricity the country needs.

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.

Its 3,400 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 4Mt 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 13 operational pellet plants with nameplate capacity of c.4Mt, plus a further two plants currently commissioning and other developments/expansions which will increase this to c.5Mt once complete.

Drax is targeting 8Mt of production capacity by 2030, which will require the development of over 3Mt 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 mills supply around 30% of the biomass used at its own power station in North Yorkshire, England to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses.

Customers: 

Drax is the largest supplier of renewable electricity to UK businesses, supplying 100% renewable electricity as standard to more than 370,000 sites through Drax and Opus Energy.

It offers 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

Drax donates £10,000 to Shelter

13 January 2022

News

Employees at Britain’s biggest renewable power station have donated over £10,000 to the charity Shelter, which aims to end homelessness and poor housing in Britain.

Drax’s Christmas parties did not go ahead this year, in order to reduce Covid risks, and instead employees were offered a festive hamper or to donate the equivalent value to the charity Shelter.

As a result of the generosity of employees, Drax raised more than £10,000 for the charity, which provides support to thousands of people in the UK who face homelessness and unsafe housing.

Alan Knight, Drax’s Director of Sustainability, said: “I hope the generosity of Drax’s employees will help Shelter to deliver the vital services to those most in need of safe housing this winter.

“Drax has a long history of supporting charities and it is important that we continue to do so especially at the moment, as their ability to fundraise and provide services to vulnerable people has been impacted by the pandemic.”

Drax is committed to supporting the communities local to its operations. It has invested more than £840,000 to support its customers and local communities since the start of the Covid-19 crisis.

ENDS

Media contacts:

Megan Hopgood
Communications Officer
E: [email protected]
T: 07936350175

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.    

Its 3,400 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 4Mt 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 13 operational pellet plants with nameplate capacity of c.4Mt, plus a further two plants currently commissioning and other developments/expansions which will increase this to c.5Mt once complete.  

Drax is targeting 8Mt of production capacity by 2030, which will require the development of over 3Mt 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 mills supply around 30% of the biomass used at its own power station in North Yorkshire, England to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses.  

Customers:    

Drax is the largest supplier of renewable electricity to UK businesses, supplying 100% renewable electricity as standard to more than 370,000 sites through Drax and Opus Energy.  

It offers 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 

Potential solution to unlock investment in climate-critical storage technologies

10 January 2022

News
  • With no new long-duration energy storage projects built in the UK since the 1980s, enough wind power to supply more than a million homes was wasted in 2020 as excess renewable power could not be stored anywhere.
  • New report identifies suitable revenue stabilisation mechanism to help unlock private investment in new generation of storage technologies to help stabilise the power grid and enable more renewables to come online – cutting costs and reducing emissions.
  • Drax plans to build UK’s first new pumped storage hydro plant in a generation at its iconic Cruachan facility in Scotland, helping the country meet its climate targets whilst supporting hundreds of jobs.

A new report by KPMG, commissioned by Drax Group, has looked at different revenue stabilisation mechanisms which could be deployed to unlock private investment in these vital storage technologies.

No new long duration storage infrastructure, such as pumped hydro storage power stations, have been built in the UK for more than 30 years. However, KPMG’s analysis has found that an existing mechanism could be part of the solution to attract a wave of new investment in large-scale electricity storage infrastructure projects.

Possible solutions were assessed through a rigorous framework to find which stabilisation regime would not only incentivise investment but would also address system needs and provide best value for money for consumers.

The report found that a cap and floor mechanism, like the regime used to incentivise investment in cross-border interconnectors, is the standout solution to overcome the hurdles currently blocking investment in long duration storage technologies.

This model would reduce risks for investors while at the same time encouraging operators of the new storage facilities to respond to system needs, helping the Electricity System Operator to maintain secure supplies on an increasingly volatile grid.

Penny Small, Drax Group Generation Director, said:

“The UK has decarbonised its electricity system at a faster rate than any other country as a result of the successful deployment of renewables including wind, solar, hydro and sustainable biomass.

“With more long-duration storage, the system would operate more effectively in terms of reducing emissions, cutting costs and maintaining secure supplies. This report sets out a clear pathway to unlock private investment in a new generation of pumped hydro power stations in the UK, and which also gives value for money for consumers.

“Innovative technologies like pumped storage hydro are key to achieving the UK’s net zero target, because they help stop excess renewable power from wind farms going to waste by storing it and making it available at lightning speed when the country needs it.”

Cruachan Power Station

Drax is moving forward with ambitious plans to build a new underground pumped storage hydro plant at its existing Cruachan facility in Argyll, Scotland. The new 600MW station would be built within a new, hollowed-out cavern that would be large enough to fit Big Ben on its side.

Supporting around 900 jobs during its construction, the new facility would bring the site’s total generating capacity to 1.04GW – enough to power more than a million homes – capacity which could be available by 2030 with a suitable investment framework.

Developments such as Cruachan 2 are critical to realising the UK’s climate targets. In 2020 enough wind power to supply a million homes went to waste in the UK because there wasn’t enough capacity to store this excess renewable power.

There are many prospective long duration energy storage projects in the UK, but none have shovels in the ground as businesses require more certainty from the government before giving the green light to development.

ENDS

Media contacts:

Aidan Kerr
Media Manager
E: [email protected]
T: 07849090368 

Editor’s Notes

  • An executive summary of the KPMG report can be found here on the Drax website.
  • The report considered external factors such as the UK’s target to significantly expand offshore wind power to 40GW by 2030 and the rise in power demand from electric vehicles and heat pumps through to 2050.
  • Four investment mechanisms were examined: Contracts for Difference, Regulated Asset Base model, Cap and Floor regime and a reformed Capacity Market.
  • A Cap and Floor regime was found to be the optimal solution against an 11-area assessment framework.
  • The same support regime has been transformational in unlocking private investment in cross-border interconnectors since its launch in 2014. This is because investors can see the project’s annual maximum and minimum revenues over a 25-year period, which reduces risks.
  • Nine interconnector projects with a combined flow capacity of 10.5GW have been awarded agreements during the first two application windows, securing enough capacity to keep the lights on for around 29 million homes if all projects are developed.
  • Separate independent analysis by Lane, Clark and Peacock (LCP) found the UK curtailed 3.6TWh of wind power in 2020, enough renewable electricity to supply around a million homes.
  • Despite their benefits to the grid, attracting private investment in long duration storage technologies has been difficult due to their build times often being longer than the timeframes offered by existing mechanisms designed to incentivise investment in energy infrastructure projects, such as the Capacity Market.
  • You can read more about Drax’s plans to build a new 660MW pumped storage hydro power station at Cruachan here.

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.

Its 3,400 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 4Mt 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 13 operational pellet plants with nameplate capacity of c.4Mt, plus a further two plants currently commissioning and other developments/expansions which will increase this to c.5Mt once complete.
Drax is targeting 8Mt of production capacity by 2030, which will require the development of over 3Mt 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 mills supply around 30% of the biomass used at its own power station in North Yorkshire, England to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses.

Customers:

Drax is the largest supplier of renewable electricity to UK businesses, supplying 100% renewable electricity as standard to more than 370,000 sites through Drax and Opus Energy.

 

Greenest Christmas: fossil fuels fall to all-time low on Britain’s power grid

30 December 2021

News

Just before midnight yesterday (Wednesday), fossil fuels generated 1.7 GW of electricity – just 6% of the power on Britain’s electricity grid at the time.

Instead of coal and gas supplying most of the country’s electricity like in years gone by, renewable sources such as biomass, wind and hydro were keeping Britain’s lights on.

Renewables generated 24.19 GW – 65% of the country’s entire electricity needs – while fossil fuels were at a new record low.

Power from renewables at 23:45, 29 December 2021:

  • Biomass – 2.34 GW (8.27%)
  • Hydro – 0.3 GW (1.05%)
  • Solar – 0 GW (0%)
  • Wind – 15.62 GW (55.32%)

The new record is a further example of the renewables revolution that has transformed Britain’s power grid in recent years.  A decade ago, at the same time on 30 December 2011, fossil fuels generated 18.78 GW, totalling 58.79% of the country’s power needs.

The carbon intensity of the power system fell to just 125g/KWh during the seven days from Christmas Eve – almost 75% lower than a decade earlier when in 2012 the carbon intensity over the same period was 464g/KWh.

A report by Drax Electric Insights last year found that the UK had decarbonised its power grid over the previous decade faster than any other major economy.

ENDS

Media contacts:

Aidan Kerr
Media Manager
E: [email protected]
T: 07849090368

Editor’s Notes

  • The new all-time low record can be viewed on the Drax Electric Insights dashboard by clicking here.
  • Data from a decade ago can also be accessed from the Drax Electric Insights dashboard.

Carbon intensity of the power system over seven days from December 24:

Carbon intensity g/KWhYear
1252021
1562020
1532019
2142018
1882017
2292016
2292015
4322014
4132013
4642012

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.

Its 3,400 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.

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.

Pellet production and supply:

Drax owns and has interests in 17 pellet mills in the US South and Western Canada which have the capacity to manufacture 4.9 million tonnes of compressed wood pellets (biomass) a year. 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 mills supply around 30% of the biomass used at its own power station in North Yorkshire, England to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses.

Customers: 

Through its two B2B energy supply brands, Haven Power and Opus Energy, Drax supplies energy to 250,000 businesses across Britain.

For more information visit www.drax.com

Powering a greener 2022: Happy New Year from Drax

News

Drax has transformed the power station to become the biggest decarbonisation project in Europe having converted four of its generating units to use sustainable biomass instead of coal. Drax now produces 12% of Britain’s renewable electricity – enough for four million homes.

Drax Plant Director, Bruce Heppenstall, said:

“On behalf of Drax, I’d like to wish everyone a healthy, happy new year. Drax is already the country’s biggest renewable power generator, and we’re looking forward to an even greener future with our two remaining coal units scheduled to close completely in September 2022 – the end of an era and a major milestone in Drax’s journey to becoming a carbon negative business.”

Drax is developing the vital negative emissions technology bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and plans to invest £40m in the project in 2022.

Work to build BECCS at Drax could get underway as soon as 2024 with the creation of tens of thousands of jobs.

Its first BECCS unit could be operational in 2027, with a second in 2030, creating the world’s biggest carbon capture in power project, permanently removing 8million tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year, making a significant contribution to the UK’s net zero targets.

The New Year’s message will be visible from 5pm – 3am on New Year’s Eve and 5pm – Midnight on New Year’s Day.

ENDS

Media contacts:

Ben Wicks
Media Manager
E: [email protected]
T: 07765 525662 

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.

Its 3,400 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.

Pellet production and supply:

Drax owns and has interests in 17 pellet mills in the US South and Western Canada which have the capacity to manufacture 4.9 million tonnes of compressed wood pellets (biomass) a year. 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 mills supply around 30% of the biomass used at its own power station in North Yorkshire, England to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses.

Customers: 

Drax is the largest supplier of renewable electricity to UK businesses, supplying 100% renewable electricity as standard to more than 370,000 sites through Drax and Opus Energy.

It offers 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

Yorkshire apprentices win top prizes at Drax awards

23 December 2021

News

Cameron Shipstone, age 21 from Hemingborough near Selby, has won Craft Apprentice of the Year after being commended for his excellent communication skills and proactive approach to learning. Cameron received outstanding feedback from his colleagues who said that he has become a valued member of the plant maintenance team.

Cameron, who is now entering the fourth year of his apprenticeship, said:

“I’m very grateful to have won this award since I really enjoyed the past year of my apprenticeship at Drax. I’m most proud of how I’ve been able to contribute to the safe day-to-day running of the power station as well as helping to complete the Unit 1 outage in line with its target date. I’m hoping to further increase my knowledge and skills so I can continue to work on the safe and reliable operation of the power station.”

Cameron Shipstone

The awards also included business apprentices, who have faced the challenge of having to do all their learning virtually this year.

Ben Senior, age 22 from York, was awarded Business Apprentice of the Year for always maintaining a positive attitude and showing great problem-solving skills. Ben’s manager said that he nominated Ben for this award as he consistently works to a high standard and goes out of his way to help the wider team.

Ben said,

“I know how high the standard of the other apprentices across the business is, so this is a real achievement for me. I’m looking forward to my future at Drax and the many career pathways it presents.”

Ben Senior

Covid restrictions meant that this year’s awards event was held virtually, but none of the glamour and excitement was missing as apprentices from across the Drax Group were recognised for their efforts overcoming the unprecedented challenges that Covid-19 brought.

Karen McKeever, Drax Chief HR Officer, who hosted the event, said:

“Drax is committed to championing and supporting people in their early careers. Hiring and developing a talented workforce of the future is essential for a business like Drax, as we strive to deliver cutting edge climate-saving technologies like bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS).

“Apprentices all have unique talents and bring a new perspective, that we can learn from. It’s been inspiring to meet them all and celebrate their achievements. The last couple of years have been challenging for us all due to Covid, but our apprentices have shown great flexibility, resilience and patience in continuing to approach their learning with enthusiasm and dedication.”

This year’s winners were:

  • Craft Apprentice of the Year (Year 1) – Callum O’Grady, age 22 from Gainsborough
  • Craft Apprentice of the Year (Year 1, Scotland) – Paul Firth, age 19 from Motherwell
  • Craft Apprentice of the Year (Year 2) – James Barratt, age 20 from Wakefield
  • Craft Apprentice of the Year (Year 2, Scotland) and the Paul Chambers Overall Apprentice of the Year – Iain MacPherson, age 19 from Oban
  • Craft Apprentice of the Year (Year 3) – Cameron Shipstone, age 21 from Hemingborough
  • Craft Apprentice of the Year (Year 4) – Ben Scott, age 21 from Brough
  • Business Apprentice of the Year – Ben Senior, age 22 from York
  • Uniper Engineering Academy Award – Declan Farmer, age 18 from Brough

Drax’s long-running apprenticeship scheme is part of its commitment to developing new talent as well as upskilling the workforce across the region. Drax has 52 apprentices as well as 50 existing employees working towards apprenticeship qualifications at other career levels within the business.

The craft apprenticeship scheme gives new recruits the opportunity to gain skills and expertise by working alongside highly qualified engineers. It is a four-year programme, and specialises in three engineering disciplines: Mechanical, Electrical and Control & Instrumentation. In addition to engineering disciplines, Drax also offers apprenticeship qualifications in business support areas such as HR, cyber security and administration.

Drax recently launched a major public consultation at its North Yorkshire power station to advance its plans to deploy the pioneering negative emissions technology, bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS). If successful, Drax could develop two BECCS units by 2030, capturing and storing at least 8 million tonnes of CO2  a year.

Scaling up BECCS at Drax would support over 10,000 jobs at its peak which is why it is vital that the region’s workforce has the skills needed to implement this green energy technology, enabling the UK to meet its 2050 net zero target whilst generating the renewable electricity the country needs.

Top image caption: Drax apprentice award winners Cameron Shipstone, Ben Senior and Callum O’Grady

ENDS

Media contacts:

Megan Hopgood
Communications Officer
E: [email protected]
T: 07936350175

Editor’s Notes

Drax has been running an apprenticeship scheme for almost two decades at its eponymous power station in North Yorkshire and also offers internships and graduate schemes as part of its dedication to improving skills and increasing opportunities for young people across the region.

Drax runs a number of other initiatives to support STEM education and skills, including:

Applications are now open for Drax’s next work experience for students in Y10-Y12 or S4-S6 in Scotland. For more details go to www.drax.com/careers. The closing date is 16th January 2022.

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.

Its 3,400 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.

Pellet production and supply:

Drax owns and has interests in 17 pellet mills in the US South and Western Canada which have the capacity to manufacture 4.9 million tonnes of compressed wood pellets (biomass) a year. 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 mills supply around 30% of the biomass used at its own power station in North Yorkshire, England to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses.

Customers: 

Drax is the largest supplier of renewable electricity to UK businesses, supplying 100% renewable electricity as standard to more than 370,000 sites through Drax and Opus Energy.

It offers 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