Archives: Press Release

‘Renewable energy apprentices’ kickstart careers at Drax

25 August 2021

Press releases

Pic caption: L-R: Poppy Johnson-Roberts, Chloe Wrightham, Lewis White, Drax Group Operations Director Mike Maudsley, Plant Director Bruce Heppenstall, Daniel Penistone, Sam Easthill, Dylan Hall Parkes and Patrick Harpham

Renewable energy company Drax is welcoming seven apprentice engineers as part of its efforts to create career development opportunities in the North and ensure it has the best in-house talent to support its ambitious decarbonisation plans.

The apprentice engineers have won places on the technical apprenticeship scheme at Drax Power Station near Selby in North Yorkshire – the UK’s largest single site renewable power generator, which produces enough renewable electricity for four million homes.

The four-year programme gives new recruits the opportunity to gain expertise working alongside the world-class engineers at Britain’s biggest power station which has become one of Europe’s largest decarbonisation projects following its conversion from coal to using sustainable wood pellets.

Mike Maudsley, Drax Group’s UK Portfolio Generation Director said:

“I started my career as an apprentice and meeting our new renewable energy apprentices is one of the highlights of my job. Providing these young people with the tools needed to become the skilled workforce of the future is not only essential to the success of our business, it’s also an incredibly rewarding part of what we do.

“Giving our apprentices the opportunity to work on the cutting-edge, environmental technologies of the future will ensure we’re nurturing our in-house talent and creating opportunities for people here in the North to lead the green energy revolution needed to get the UK to net zero, supporting a post-covid economic recovery.”

Patrick Harpham, aged 19 from Selby, who has joined Drax as a mechanical apprentice, said:

“I’m really pleased to have the opportunity to be part of the new intake of apprentices at Drax and proud to be starting my career with a company that is so committed to tackling global climate change. I’m also very proud to be following in the footsteps of my great grandfather and grandad, both of whom spent much of their careers at the power station. This family history is what has always inspired me to want to become an engineer.”

Mechanical apprentice Poppy Johnson-Roberts, aged 18 from Cleethorpes, said:

“I chose to apply for an apprenticeship with Drax because it is an innovative company which is always developing and looking to the future. I also feel like it’s a great opportunity for me and will open up so many potential career pathways as Drax is committed to helping young people develop their skills.”

The apprentices beginning their careers at Drax Power Station this year are:

  • Chloe Wrightham,18, from Grimsby
  • Daniel Penistone, 17, from Selby
  • Dylan Hall Parkes,18, from Doncaster
  • Lewis White, 23, from Grimsby
  • Patrick Harpham, 19, from Selby
  • Poppy Johnson-Roberts, 18, from Cleethorpes
  • Sam Easthill, 21, from Cliffe, near Selby.

L-R: Daniel Penistone, Chloe Wrightham, Poppy Johnson-Roberts, Drax Group Operations Director Mike Maudsley, Plant Director Bruce Heppenstall, Sam Easthill, Lewis White, Dylan Hall Parkes and Patrick Harpham

They will be trained within the maintenance department of the power station, with three of them in mechanical roles and four working alongside the electrical and instrumentation team.

Drax plans to become carbon negative by 2030 by using bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) which it aims to start developing at the power station as soon as 2024 with the creation of thousands of jobs.

The first BECCS unit would be operational in 2027 with a second in 2030, permanently removing a total of eight million tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year, making a significant contribution to the UK’s efforts to address the climate crisis, whilst generating the renewable electricity the country needs.

ENDS

Media contacts:

Aidan Kerr

Media Manager

E: [email protected]

T: 07849090368

Megan Hopgood

Media and PR Intern

E: [email protected]

T: 07936350175

Editor’s Notes

The apprentices will start work on-site at Drax once they have completed formal training at the Humberside Engineering Training Association.

Drax offers apprenticeships in business support areas as well as engineering disciplines and is in the process of recruiting two cyber security and two facilities apprentices who will start work in October. All opportunities are advertised on the Drax website.

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

The energy company is also committed to helping its existing employees to boost their skills to ensure they are ready to work on new green technologies liked BECCS. Around 80 employees across the group are studying for apprenticeship qualifications.

Throughout the Covid pandemic Drax has continued to invest in young people and supported its communities through several initiatives, including:

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

Drax expands virtual work experience programme to boost employability for even more young people

16 August 2021

Press releases
  • Drax Group is offering students a virtual insight into the world of work as part of the energy company’s continued commitment to STEM education, supporting its efforts to increase social mobility for one million people.
  • The programme, which is running online this week from 16-20 August, has been extended from four to five days and made available to a wider audience.
  • After the success of the first virtual work experience week in April, the energy company has decided to run additional events to give even more students the opportunity to take part.

Britain’s biggest power station, near Selby in North Yorkshire, has expanded its virtual work experience programme to offer even more young people insights into the workplace and boost employability and skills.

The energy company first launched virtual work experience as a result of not being able to run its usual on-site work experience programmes due to Covid restrictions, and has decided to continue the programme after receiving a positive response from those who took part.

Engineering student Tahmid Md, who took part in the previous virtual work experience programme, said:

“Work experience at Drax was a great week and I learnt a lot from the programme. The CV building and interview sessions were especially helpful, and I really enjoyed the engineering projects I took part in.”

Drax colleagues have put together a five-day online programme which enables more students to participate from across England, who may previously have found it difficult to take part, due to barriers preventing their attendance, such as geography, opportunity, and economic factors.

The work experience programme is part of Drax’s Mobilising a Million initiative, which aims to increase social mobility by creating opportunities to further education and improve employability, ensuring the country has the skilled workforce needed to support a post-covid, green economic recovery.

Drax Group’s Head of Sustainable Business, Alan Knight, said:

“We work closely with schools in our communities to inspire children from all backgrounds to study STEM subjects, so the next generation has the education and skills needed to support businesses like ours as we continue to develop and grow.

“Virtual Work Experience builds on the work we did during lockdown to provide laptops, free internet access and virtual tours of the power station to ensure no students were left behind in their studies.”

Department of Education Minister for Apprenticeships and Skills, Gillian Keegan said:

“It’s brilliant to see businesses like Drax offering virtual opportunities for young people to learn about and prepare for the world of work.

“As the energy market is changing there are new green jobs opening up for employees. Offering young people the chance to explore these new opportunities in the workplace is vital to shape their career goals, and help them to discover the wide range of choices available for their future.”

Students who applied to take part in Drax’s virtual work experience programme aged 14-18 could choose from four different business streams: Engineering, Business Support, IT & Project Management and Finance. They will learn about the energy company, focusing on developing employability skills and learning about their business area through conversations with employees and targeted projects. They will also have the opportunity to ask members of Drax’s executive committee about their careers during a Q&A session.

This year’s Covid lockdown resulted in many students being home schooled for months, so the Drax virtual work experience programme is taking place during the Summer Holidays, so that participants do not miss any more vital classroom time during the school term.

ENDS

Media contacts:

Ben Wicks

Media Manager

E: [email protected]

T: 07761525662

 

Megan Hopgood

Media and PR Intern

E: [email protected]

T: 07936350175

 

Editor’s Notes

Now that Covid restrictions have eased, Drax intends to resume its usual work experience programme on site, but it will continue to host a virtual programme online as well.

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

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 during the Covid-19 crisis including donating over 1,200 laptops to schools and colleges across the country, helping to make sure children without access to computers or the internet at home, were not left behind in their studies during the Covid crisis.

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

Louisiana educators learn about bugs, birds and wildlife in Drax-supported environment workshop

12 August 2021

Press releases

Teachers, girl scout leaders and other youth educators have been finding new ways to bring environmental education to life with Drax Biomass.

The renewable energy company sponsored a day of activities in Pineville, Louisiana, run by Project Learning Tree, to help teachers with lesson plans and a variety of resources and fun activities to help young people learn about the environment around them and how to take care of it.

Workshop attendees participated in various games and activities including “Tree Factory” which explains the life cycle of trees, “Birds and Bugs,” which teaches children about how insects camouflage themselves and “Water Wonders,” which demonstrates how the water cycle works.

Teachers taking part in the “Birds and Bugs” activity.

Girl Scout Troop Leader Jessica Hall said:

“One of our main focuses in the Girl Scouts is getting our troops out into nature and teaching them about the environment. The workshop has given me great, practical activities that I can use with my girls as well as sharing with the 20 other troops across Bossier Parish. I can’t wait to try the ‘Birds and Bugs’ game on our upcoming hiking day where we visit a local wildlife refuge.”

Drax Biomass sponsored the workshop at the Alexandria Forestry Center in Pineville, La., including supplying 100 copies of a lesson and activity guidebook for teachers and several activity kits for use on the day that each participant got to take with them.

The activities can be done in a classroom or outdoors and can be easily adapted to suit Kindergarten through grade 8. The activities can be integrated into lesson plans for all subject areas, in particular science, math, reading, writing and social studies and can help to improve critical thinking and problem-solving abilities.

Drax Biomass Senior Vice President Matt White said:

“Project Learning Tree is a great initiative and we’re pleased to support a workshop like this one. Fostering an appreciation for our environment at a young age is so important as it encourages the next generation to play their part in conserving the natural world around us, which is essential for protecting our quality of life.”

Drax Biomass forestry colleagues L-R: James Pendarvis, Bretta Palmer, John McDowell, Steven Galloway and Kay Campbell.

Project Learning Tree – an initiative of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative – aims to promote greater awareness and knowledge of the environment through hands-on experience and engaging activities that can be integrated into the school curriculum.

Project Learning Tree Louisiana State Coordinator and employee of the USDA Forest Service, Stacy Blomquist, said:

“We’re so grateful to Drax for their support with the workshop. The day was a great success and everyone who attended said they were looking forward to incorporating the activities they’d learned into lesson plans.”

The workshop was attended by teachers and a diverse range of professionals who work with young people including members of organizations such as the Girl Scouts and 4-H which is a club dedicated to teaching children about the environment.

Drax Biomass is committed to supporting the communities local to its operations through a variety of measures that include sponsoring educational programs and providing financial support in times of crisis, including during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Pic caption: Alexandra Senior High School teachers Yasmine Russ and Veronica Guillory.

ENDS

Media contacts:

 

Annmarie Sartor

Drax Biomass Communications Officer

E:[email protected]

T: +1 318-801-0046

 

  

Editor’s Notes

  • Project Learning Tree is an environmental education program designed for teachers and other educators, parents and community leaders working with youth from preschool through grade 12. PLT is an initiative of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative.
  • Project Learning Tree uses trees and forests as windows on the world to increase students’ understanding of the environment and the actions they can take to conserve it.
  • Since 1976, PLT has reached 138 million students and trained 765,000 educators to help students learn how to think about complex environmental issues.
  • To find out more about Project Learning Tree training workshops and how you can attend, contact your state coordinator here.
  • Drax’s support for communities in Louisiana include sponsored learning programs through the Northeast Louisiana Children’s Museum and On the Go America, alongside support for the Boys & Girls clubs of North Louisiana to help children make healthier choices.
  • In the past 12 months, Drax has supported families in Northeast and Central Louisiana who were impacted by Hurricane Laura and donated $20,000 to help rebuild the public pavilion in the town of Olla and to repair the roof of Urania’s recreational hall following Hurricane Laura.

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

Drax Group CEO Will Gardiner responds to IPCC report

9 August 2021

Press releases
Will Gardiner, CEO, Drax Group

Drax Group CEO Will Gardiner said:

 

“Today’s IPCC report provides a stark warning about what will happen if we don’t act now to address climate change. Negative emissions solutions are proven and ready to go, but must be deployed much faster if we are to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and cap global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees.

“With the right government support, Drax is ready to invest in scaling up bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) to deliver millions of tonnes of negative emissions as early as 2027, creating new green jobs and clean growth while tackling climate change.”

 

Background:

 

  • The UN’s IPCC and the UK’s independent advisory panel the Climate Change Committee have both said that negative emissions from BECCS will be needed to address the climate crisis.
  • Developing BECCS at Drax would support thousands of jobs during construction at its peak including in construction, the supply chain and the wider economy. This is in addition to the tens of thousands of other jobs created and supported across the Humber region as part of the decarbonisation of the UK’s largest – and most carbon intensive – industrial cluster where 55,000 people are employed in energy, manufacturing and engineering.
  • BECCS at Drax will save the UK £13 billion over the coming decade and twice that to meet net zero according to a new report by energy consultancy Baringa.
  • Negative emissions technologies include BECCS, direct air capture and storage (DACS), and natural climate solutions (NCS) such as afforestation.
  • BECCS is the only negative emissions technology that also delivers the renewable electricity needed for a decarbonising economy.
  • The Coalition for Negative Emissions’ Report, produced with knowledge and advisory support from McKinsey, says Paris Agreement climate targets will be missed without an industrial scale up of negative emissions.
    • The report found that at least 1 Gigatonne a year of negative emissions from BECCS is needed globally by 2025 to keep global warming within the Paris Agreement target of 1.5 degrees Celsius.
    • Currently, only 0.1 Gt is being delivered today, according to the report.
  • Negative emissions solutions BECCS, DACS and NCS are proven, ready for deployment and scale up, and can provide 1 Gt or more each of negative emissions.

Drax commences major turbine upgrade to drive down cost of biomass power generation

5 August 2021

Press releases

Work has begun at Drax Power Station to upgrade one of its turbines and complete a major £40m investment in Europe’s largest renewable power generator in North Yorkshire.

Over the next four months, more than 1,000 contractors will work around the clock to enhance the performance of one of the station’s four biomass units and improve its efficiency. The work will include installing a new high-pressure turbine barrel, new pipework and surveying the station’s boilers as part of Drax’s plans to reduce the cost of its biomass power generation by around a third by 2027.

The upgrade is the third and final upgrade as part of a £40m investment programme in the station’s turbines which started in 2019.

Mike Maudsley, Drax Group’s UK Portfolio Generation Director, said:

“These turbine upgrades will improve the plant’s efficiency, ensuring Drax can continue to generate the reliable, renewable electricity millions of homes and businesses across the UK rely on, beyond 2027.

“It’s also a huge boost to the region’s economy, with more than a thousand contractors working on site during the project – that’s in addition to the 6,600 jobs supported throughout Drax’s supply chains in the North.”

The power station has been transformed in recent years from using coal, to generating renewable power with sustainable biomass – cutting carbon emissions by more than 90% since 2012 making Drax one of the lowest carbon intensity generators in Europe.

Drax plans to go even further by becoming carbon negative by 2030 by using bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS).

Earlier this year Drax progressed its plans for BECCS – selecting Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) as its technology partner and kickstarting the planning process to develop BECCS at Drax this decade.

Subject to the right government support, work to build BECCS could get underway as soon as 2024 with the creation of thousands of jobs. The first BECCS unit at Drax Power Station would then be operational in 2027 with a second in 2030, permanently removing at least 8 million tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere each year.

ENDS

Media contacts:

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

Editor’s Notes

  • The turbine upgrade is part of a three-year £40m investment programme which started in 2019.
  • In the first half of 2021, Drax Power Station generated 7.6TWh of renewable power from sustainable biomass, enough to supply over 5 million households.
  • Drax stopped using its coal units for commercial power generation in March 2021 and they will close completely in September 2022 when its existing capacity market agreements come to end.
  • Drax kickstarted the planning process to develop BECCS at Drax in March and announced MHI would be providing the technology required for BECCS at Drax in June.

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

Drax Group CEO responds to the NIC’s report on engineered greenhouse gas removals

29 July 2021

Press releases
Drax Group CEO Will Gardiner in the control room at Drax Power Station

“The publication of the NIC’s report further demonstrates the significant role engineered greenhouse gas removal technologies like bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and direct air capture and storage will play in enabling the UK reach its net zero target. However, urgent action is required within the next decade to support their roll out if the government is to meet its climate obligations.

“Deploying BECCS at Drax will not only save the UK billions of pounds over the next decade; as the government’s own analysis shows, it will be vital if the UK is to meet the targets set out in the fifth and sixth carbon budgets.

“It will also see the creation of a major new infrastructure sector in the UK which could rival the size of the UK’s water sector, creating, and protecting tens of thousands of jobs across the north, levelling up the UK and positioning us as a global leader in negative emissions technologies.”

Editor’s Notes

  • The NIC report is recommending that the government commits to deploying engineered removals at scale by 2030 and publish a plan to do so by no later than the end of 2022.
  • By 2030 engineered removals should be delivering between 5MtCO2 and 10MtCO2 of negative emissions per year.
  • By 2030 the engineered removals sector could be receiving revenues of approx. £2bn per year rising to £10s of bn by 2050.
  • The first BECCS unit at Drax could be operational by 2027 with the second by 2030.
  • The two units could capture up to 8Mt of CO2 per year. 80% of the amount the NIC states will be needed by 2030.
  • BECCS is the lowest cost engineered method to permanently capture and store carbon for hundreds of years.
  • BECCS at Drax will save the UK more than £13bn to meet the 5th Carbon Budget according to research from leading energy consultancy Baringa.

Drax cuts emissions by over 90% to become one of Europe’s lowest carbon power generators

Press releases
Drax Power Station, North Yorkshire
  • Once the biggest coal fired power station in Western Europe, Drax has now slashed its CO2 emissions from power generation by over 90 percent since 2012, radically transforming the company and securing its place as one of Europe’s lowest carbon utilities.
  • Using sustainable biomass and hydro, in the first half of 2021 Drax became a purely renewable power generator, producing 12% of the UK’s renewable electricity – enough to power over 5 million homes and support the deployment of intermittent renewables such as wind and solar.
  • And by deploying bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) at the power station, Drax is set to go even further – generating the negative emissions needed to meet the UK’s net zero climate target while delivering jobs and clean growth in the North.

British renewable energy company Drax Group has cut the carbon emissions from its power generation by over 90 per cent in under a decade, becoming one of Europe’s lowest carbon intensity power generators and moving it closer to achieving its world-leading ambition to be carbon negative by 2030.

Formerly the largest coal power station in Western Europe, Drax has this year ended commercial coal generation, sold its existing gas assets and transformed itself into one of the region’s primary decarbonisers – it is now a purely renewable power generator.

Drax has also made significant progress in the first half of 2021 with plans to deploy the world’s largest carbon capture project by fitting critical negative emissions technology BECCS at the power plant in North Yorkshire.

Deploying BECCS at Drax could enable the renewable energy company to make an even greater contribution to carbon reductions in the coming decade, while creating jobs and supporting the UK’s green transition.

Engineers walking in front of sustainable biomass wood pellet storage dome at Drax Power Station, June 2021

Engineers walking in front of sustainable biomass wood pellet storage dome at Drax Power Station, June 2021 [view/download for print or digital]

Drax Group CEO, Will Gardiner, said:

“Cutting Drax’s carbon emissions by more than 90% in under a decade is a unique achievement and is transformational – both for our business and the environment.

“Replacing fossil fuels with clean power from renewables like sustainable biomass and hydro has enabled the UK’s electricity system to decarbonise faster than any other major economy, but industry needs to go further than just reducing emissions — to permanently removing the CO2 in the atmosphere if the UK is to achieve its ambitious climate targets.

Drax Group CEO Will Gardiner in the control room at Drax Power Station

Drax Group CEO Will Gardiner in the control room at Drax Power Station [Click to view/download]

“By deploying BECCS, Drax will be leading the way in permanently removing millions of tonnes of CO2 while generating renewable power and supporting clean growth and thousands of jobs in the 2020s.

“BECCS is the only technology available now which can deliver the negative emissions the world needs to meet the climate commitments set out in Paris in 2015, whilst also generating the reliable renewable electricity the world needs.”

In the first half of the year Drax progressed its plans for BECCS – selecting Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) as its technology partner and kickstarting the planning process to develop BECCS at Drax this decade.

It also started to explore overseas opportunities for BECCS with Bechtel, including in North America, and next generation BECCS technologies with Phoenix BioPower, creating further potential opportunities for the UK to export a critical technology that will be needed around the world.

Subject to the right government support, the first BECCS unit at Drax Power Station could be operational in 2027 with a second in 2030, permanently removing at least 8 million tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere each year.

It would be the world’s largest carbon capture power project, delivering a significant proportion of the negative emissions the UK needs to meet its climate targets.

Pinnacle's Lavington, British Columbia wood pellet plant

Pinnacle’s Lavington, British Columbia wood pellet plant [click to view/download]

In a pivotal six months for the company, Drax also secured additional biomass production capacity and reduced costs through the acquisition of Canadian biomass producer Pinnacle Renewable Energy Inc.

Drax is now the world’s leading integrated sustainable biomass generation and supply business, with access to global markets from Europe to the Far East.

ENDS

Media contacts:

Selina Williams
Media Manager
E: [email protected]
T: 07912 230 393

Aidan Kerr
Media Manager
E: [email protected]
T: 07849 090 368

Editor’s Notes

  • Graphs showing Drax carbon intensity per unit of electricity generated compared to other European power generators’ carbon intensity.
  • In 2012 Drax used around 10 million tonnes of coal a year to produce enough electricity to keep the lights on for around 6 million households.
  • In the first half of 2021, Drax Power Station generated 7.6TWh of renewable power from sustainable biomass, enough to supply over 5 million households.
  • Drax announced a good operational and financial performance in its H1 2021 results published today.
  • Drax sold its gas power stations to VPI in February 2021
  • Drax stopped using its coal units for commercial power generation in March 2021 and they will close completely in September 2022 when its existing capacity market agreements come to end.
  • The acquisition of Pinnacle Renewable Energy Inc completed in April
  • Drax kickstarted the planning process to develop BECCS at Drax in March and announced MHI would be providing the technology required for BECCS at Drax in June
  • For international BECCS, Drax is working with Bechtel to explore options for new build projects globally while also studying more efficient next generation BECCS technologies with Phoenix BioPower.
  • A recent report from McKinsey for the Coalition for Negative Emissions showed that at least 1 Gigatonne a year of negative emissions from BECCS is needed globally by 2025 to keep global warming within the Paris Agreement target of 1.5 degrees Celsius.
  • Main photo caption: Drax Power Station, North Yorkshire [click to view/download for print or digital]

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 20% 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

Drax CEO responds to BEIS Smart Systems & Flexibility Plan

22 July 2021

Press releases
Reservoir above Cruachan Power Station

“This report by BEIS is an important first step towards removing barriers to building new, innovative long-duration storage projects in the UK. As made clear in the report, increasing Britain’s storage capacity is vital to decarbonising our economy and reaching net zero.

“We need to stop renewable power from going to waste by storing it, and Drax is progressing plans to build the UK’s first new pumped storage hydro power station in a generation at our Cruachan site. Our plans to expand Cruachan will unlock more renewable electricity to power homes and businesses across the country, and support hundreds of new jobs in rural Scotland.

“Drax looks forward to working with the Government and the wider energy industry to unlock the transformative potential of these technologies”

Drax CEO Will Gardiner on top of dam above Cruachan Power Station, Argyll and Bute

Drax CEO Will Gardiner on top of dam above Cruachan Power Station, Argyll and Bute [click to view/download]

ENDS

Media contacts

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

 Editor’s Notes

  • You can read the Smart Systems & Flexibility Plan here.
  • BEIS describe long duration storage as “essential for achieving net zero”.
  • Over the coming months the Government has committed to work with industry to “take actions to de-risk investment for large scale and long duration storage”.
  • BEIS has issued a call for evidence on removing barriers and will respond in early 2022.
  • Drax has begun the planning process to build a new underground pumped hydro storage power station at Cruachan which will more than doubling the site’s electricity generating capacity.
  • The 600 megawatt (MW) power station will be located inside Ben Cruachan – Argyll’s highest mountain – and increase the site’s total capacity to 1 gigawatt (GW).
  • No investment decision has yet been taken and development remains subject to the right regulatory framework with the UK Government.
  • Main image pic caption: Reservoir above Cruachan Power Station [click to view/download]

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 20% 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