Archives: Press Release

Opus Energy generated £678 million and supported 6,000 jobs in the East Midlands

22 March 2021

Press releases
  • Northampton based renewable energy supplier Opus Energy has contributed almost £678 million towards the East Midlands’ economy and supported 6,000 jobs.
  • Opus Energy supplies renewable energy to businesses across the UK, helping them to be more sustainable.

Leading energy supplier Opus Energy contributed £678 million towards the East Midlands’ economy and supported 6,000 jobs, according to a new report.

The independent analysis measured the economic impact of Drax Group’s UK operations, the owner and operator of Drax Power Station – the country’s biggest renewable power generator, which produces enough renewable electricity for four million homes.

Will Gardiner, Drax Group CEO, said:

“Drax’s operations and sophisticated supply chains are helping level up the UK by spreading jobs, skills and opportunities across the whole of the country.

“We plan to go further by deploying bioenergy with carbon capture and storage to permanently remove CO2 from the atmosphere whilst generating the renewable electricity businesses need in order to decarbonise the economy and help Britain to build back better after Covid.”

Employment supported by Drax’s activities covered a wide range of sectors including high-skilled manufacturing of industrial components, engineering and technical machinery, IT, professional business services and transporting goods.

James Bedford, Economist at Oxford Economics, said:

“Drax Group makes an important economic contribution to the UK. Its activities generated £2.2 billion in GDP in 2019, and sustained thousands of jobs across the nation.

“The positive impact from Drax’s operations aren’t just confined to the boundaries of its power stations or customer contact centres, it is spread across the country benefiting communities throughout the UK.”

ENDS

Media contacts:

Ali Lewis
Head of Media and PR
E: [email protected]
T: 07712 670888

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

Editors Notes:

  • You can access a copy of the report by going to: https://www.draximpact.co.uk/
  • Researchers at Oxford Economics used three measures to calculate Drax’s GDP contribution: the economic activity associated with the day-to-day running of the business; the activity created by the purchase of goods and services from its suppliers; and the wages the company’s employees and suppliers’ employees spend in their local area.
  • The report’s findings are taken from analysis of the latest available data, from 2019 – just after Drax Group’s acquisition of a portfolio of generation assets, including hydro and gas power stations.

Key findings

  • Drax Group contributed £2.2 billion towards UK GDP in 2019 and supported over 19,000 jobs across the country.
  • 4,200 jobs supported in Yorkshire and the Humber.
  • 1,200 jobs supported in Scotland and £211 million generated in its economy, home to Drax’s hydro operations including the iconic ‘Hollow Mountain’ Cruachan Power Station.
  • £392 million generated and 2,900 jobs supported in the East of England, where one of Drax Group’s B2B power supply businesses Haven Power, is based.
  • 2,700 jobs supported and £289 million generated in the East Midlands, home to Opus Energy – Drax’s other B2B retail business, which supplies energy to SMEs.

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 2,900-strong employees operate across three principal areas of activity – electricity generation, electricity sales to business customers and compressed wood pellet production.

Power generation:

Drax owns and operates a portfolio of flexible, low carbon and renewable electricity generation assets across Britain. The assets include the UK’s largest power station, based at Selby, North Yorkshire, which supplies five percent of the country’s electricity needs.

Having converted two thirds of Drax Power Station to use sustainable biomass instead of coal it has become the UK’s biggest renewable power generator and the largest decarbonisation project in Europe. 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.

Customers:

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

Pellet production:

Drax owns and operates three pellet mills in the US South which manufacture compressed wood pellets (biomass) produced from sustainably managed working forests. These pellet mills supply around 20% of the biomass used by Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses.

For more information visit www.drax.com

Haven Power generated £398 million and supported over 3,400 jobs in the East of England

Press releases
Trading desk at Haven Power, Ipswich
  • Ipswich based renewable energy supplier Haven Power, part of Drax Group, has contributed almost £400 million towards the East of England economy and supported more than 3,400 jobs.
  • Haven Power is a leading supplier of renewable energy to some of Britain’s biggest businesses including airports and car manufacturing plants.

Leading energy supplier Haven Power contributed £398 million towards the UK economy and supported 3,400 jobs across the country, according to a new report.

The independent analysis by Oxford Economics measured the economic impact of the UK operations of Drax Group, Haven Power’s parent company, which owns and operates Drax Power Station – the country’s biggest renewable power generator.

Haven Power, a leading supplier of renewable energy to business customers, is based in Ipswich. Drax Group’s operations contributed almost £400 million towards the East of England economy and supported 2,900 jobs in the region.

Will Gardiner, Drax Group CEO, said:

“Drax’s operations and sophisticated supply chains are helping level up the UK by spreading jobs, skills and opportunities across the whole of the country.

“We plan to go further by deploying bioenergy with carbon capture and storage to permanently remove CO2 from the atmosphere whilst generating the renewable electricity businesses need in order to decarbonise the economy and help Britain to build back better after Covid.”

Employment supported by Drax’s activities covered a wide range of sectors including high-skilled manufacturing of industrial components, engineering and technical machinery, IT, professional business services and transporting goods.

James Bedford, Economist at Oxford Economics, said:

“Drax Group makes an important economic contribution to the UK. Its activities generated £2.2 billion in GDP in 2019, and sustained thousands of jobs across the nation.

“The positive impact from Drax’s operations aren’t just confined to the boundaries of its power stations or customer contact centres, it is spread across the country benefiting communities throughout the UK.”

Media contacts:

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

Ali Lewis
Drax Group Head of Media & PR
E: [email protected]
T: 07712670888

Editor’s Notes

  • You can access a copy of the report by going to: https://www.draximpact.co.uk/
  • Researchers at Oxford Economics used three measures to calculate Drax’s GDP contribution: the economic activity associated with the day-to-day running of the business; the activity created by the purchase of goods and services from its suppliers; and the wages the company’s employees and suppliers’ employees spend in their local area.
  • The report’s findings are taken from analysis of the latest available data, from 2019 – just after Drax Group’s acquisition of a portfolio of generation assets, including hydro and gas power stations.

Key findings

  • Drax Group contributed £2.2 billion towards UK GDP in 2019 and supported over 19,000 jobs across the country.
  • 4,200 jobs supported in Yorkshire and the Humber.
  • 1,200 jobs supported in Scotland and £211 million generated in its economy, home to Drax’s hydro operations including the iconic ‘Hollow Mountain’ Cruachan Power Station.
  • £392 million generated and 2,900 jobs supported in the East of England, where one of Drax Group’s B2B power supply businesses Haven Power, is based.
  • 2,700 jobs supported and £289 million generated in the East Midlands, home to Opus Energy – Drax’s other B2B retail business, which supplies energy to SMEs.

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 2,900-strong employees operate across three principal areas of activity – electricity generation, electricity sales to business customers and compressed wood pellet production.

Power generation:

Drax owns and operates a portfolio of flexible, low carbon and renewable electricity generation assets across Britain. The assets include the UK’s largest power station, based at Selby, North Yorkshire, which supplies five percent of the country’s electricity needs.

Having converted two thirds of Drax Power Station to use sustainable biomass instead of coal it has become the UK’s biggest renewable power generator and the largest decarbonisation project in Europe. 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.

Customers:  

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

Pellet production:

Drax owns and operates three pellet mills in the US South which manufacture compressed wood pellets (biomass) produced from sustainably managed working forests. These pellet mills supply around 20% of the biomass used by Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses.

For more information visit www.drax.com

Drax generated £728 million for the northern economy and supported over 6,600 jobs

Press releases

  • Having converted the power station in North Yorkshire from coal to sustainable biomass Drax Group has delivered for the environment and the economy, preserving jobs and supporting many thousands more throughout its supply chains in the North.

  • The power station is already the biggest decarbonisation project in Europe and Drax intends to go further by deploying bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) technology to become a carbon negative company by 2030.

  • Using BECCS at Drax will create and support tens of thousands of new jobs in the 2020s.

Renewable energy company Drax Group contributed £728 million towards the economy in the North of England and supported 6,600 jobs across the region, according to a new report.

The independent analysis by Oxford Economics measured the economic impact of Drax’s UK operations, which includes Drax Power Station, near Selby in North Yorkshire – the country’s biggest renewable power generator, which produces enough renewable electricity for four million homes.

Download – Drax Power Station

Thousands more jobs could be created in the years ahead as part of Drax’s plan to deploy bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) technology. A report by Vivid Economics found that deploying cutting edge green technologies like BECCS and hydrogen could create and support almost 50,000 jobs in the Humber region this decade.

Will Gardiner, Drax Group CEO, said:

“Drax’s renewable power operations and sophisticated supply chains are helping level up the UK by supporting jobs, skills and opportunities.

“We aim to go further by deploying cutting edge green technologies like bioenergy with carbon capture and storage to help Britain build back better, delivering a post-Covid, green economic recovery by vital new technologies needed to address the climate crisis.”

Jobs supported by Drax’s activities covered a wide range of sectors including high-skilled manufacturing of industrial components, engineering and technical machinery, IT, professional business services and transporting goods such as sustainable biomass wood pellets.

James Bedford, Economist at Oxford Economics, said:

“Drax Group makes an important economic contribution to the UK. Its activities generated £2.2 billion in GDP in 2019, and sustained thousands of jobs across the nation.

“The positive impact from Drax’s operations aren’t just confined to the boundaries of its power stations or customer contact centres, it is spread across the country benefiting communities throughout the UK.”

The analysis showed the vast majority of the Group’s impact was felt outside London and the South East: Of the £2.2 billion GDP, £140 million was in London, meaning 94% of the Group’s economic impact was experienced outside of the capital.

ENDS

Media contacts:

Ali Lewis
Head of Media and PR
E: [email protected]
T: 07712 670888

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

Editor’s Notes

  • You can access a copy of the report by going to: https://www.draximpact.co.uk/
  • Researchers at Oxford Economics used three measures to calculate Drax’s GDP contribution: the economic activity associated with the day-to-day running of the business; the activity created by the purchase of goods and services from its suppliers; and the wages the company’s employees and suppliers’ employees spend in their local area.
  • The report’s findings are taken from analysis of the latest available data, from 2019 – just after Drax Group’s acquisition of a portfolio of generation assets, including hydro and gas power stations.

Key findings from the Oxford Economics report:

  • Drax Group contributed £2.2 billion towards UK GDP in 2019 and supported over 19,000 jobs across the country.
  • 4,200 jobs supported in Yorkshire and the Humber.
  • 1,200 jobs supported in Scotland and £211 million generated towards its economy, home to Drax’s hydro operations including the iconic ‘Hollow Mountain’ Cruachan hydro pumped storage power station.
  • £392 million generated and 2,900 jobs supported in the East of England, where one of Drax Group’s B2B power supply businesses, Haven Power, is based.
  • 2,700 jobs supported and £289 million generated in the East Midlands, home to Opus Energy – Drax’s other B2B customer business, which supplies energy to SMEs.
  • Drax commissioned Vivid Economics to examine the socio-economic benefits of developing bioenergy with carbon capture and storage BECCS alongside other cutting-edge green technologies in the Humber region. You can read the full report here.
  • Drax recently announced it was kickstarting the planning process to develop BECCS. Work could get underway at Drax as soon as 2024, creating tens of thousands of jobs. By 2027 Drax’s first BECCS unit could be operational, delivering the UK’s largest carbon capture project and permanently removing millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year.

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 2,900-strong employees operate across three principal areas of activity – electricity generation, electricity sales to business customers and compressed wood pellet production.

Power generation:

Drax owns and operates a portfolio of flexible, low carbon and renewable electricity generation assets across Britain. The assets include the UK’s largest power station, based at Selby, North Yorkshire, which supplies five percent of the country’s electricity needs.

Having converted two thirds of Drax Power Station to use sustainable biomass instead of coal it has become the UK’s biggest renewable power generator and the largest decarbonisation project in Europe. 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.

Customers:

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

Pellet production:

Drax owns and operates three pellet mills in the US South which manufacture compressed wood pellets (biomass) produced from sustainably managed working forests. These pellet mills supply around 20% of the biomass used by Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses.

For more information visit www.drax.com

 

 

Drax generated £211 million for Scotland’s economy and supported over 1,200 jobs in Scotland

Press releases
Tunnel at Cruachan Power Station

  • New report shows Drax generated more than £200m for the Scottish economy, helping local businesses and supporting skilled jobs in rural areas.

  • Drax owns and operates nine hydro power stations in Scotland, including the iconic ‘Hollow Mountain’ Cruachan pumped storage hydro power station in Argyll.

Renewable energy company Drax Group contributed £211 million towards the Scottish economy and supported 1,200 jobs across the country, according to a new report.

The independent analysis by Oxford Economics measured the economic impact of Drax’s UK operations, which includes the iconic underground ‘Hollow Mountain’ Cruachan pumped storage hydro power station in Argyll.

Download – Cruachan Dam

Cruachan acts like a giant battery with its reversible turbines able to both pump water to store excess energy and generate power when the country needs it most. This process enables the plant to stop excess renewable power from wind farms going to waste, and Drax is progressing plans to expand Cruachan to help the country decarbonise faster.

Will Gardiner, Drax Group CEO, said:

“Drax’s renewable power operations and sophisticated supply chains are helping level up the UK economy by supporting jobs, skills and opportunities – including in Scotland.

“We aim to go further by progressing plans to expand our pumped storage hydro capacity at Cruachan – this will help the country to decarbonise faster and to build back better, delivering a post-Covid, green economic recovery using vital technologies needed to address the climate crisis.”

Jobs supported by Drax’s activities across the UK covered a wide range of sectors including high-skilled manufacturing of industrial components, engineering and technical machinery, IT, professional business services and transporting goods.

James Bedford, Economist at Oxford Economics, said:

“Drax Group makes an important economic contribution to the UK. Its activities generated £2.2 billion in GDP in 2019, and sustained thousands of jobs across the nation.

“The positive impact from Drax’s operations aren’t just confined to the boundaries of its power stations or customer contact centres, it is spread across the country benefiting communities throughout the UK.”

ENDS

Media contacts:

Ali Lewis
Head of Media and PR
E: [email protected]
T: 07712 670888

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

Editor’s Notes

  • You can access a copy of the report by going to: https://www.draximpact.co.uk/
  • Researchers at Oxford Economics used three measures to calculate Drax’s GDP contribution: the economic activity associated with the day-to-day running of the business; the activity created by the purchase of goods and services from its suppliers; and the wages the company’s employees and suppliers’ employees spend in their local area.
  • The report’s findings are taken from analysis of the latest available data, from 2019 – just after Drax Group’s acquisition of a portfolio of generation assets, including hydro and gas power stations.

Key findings from the Oxford Economics report:

  • Drax Group contributed £2.2 billion towards UK GDP in 2019 and supported over 19,000 jobs across the country.
  • 4,200 jobs supported in Yorkshire and the Humber.
  • 1,200 jobs supported in Scotland and £211 million generated towards its economy, home to Drax’s hydro operations including the iconic ‘Hollow Mountain’ Cruachan pumped storage hydro power station.
  • £392 million generated and 2,900 jobs supported in the East of England, where one of Drax Group’s B2B power supply businesses, Haven Power, is based.
  • 2,700 jobs supported and £289 million generated in the East Midlands, home to Opus Energy – Drax’s other B2B customer business, which supplies energy to SMEs.
  • Drax commissioned Vivid Economics to examine the socio-economic benefits of developing bioenergy with carbon capture and storage BECCS alongside other cutting-edge green technologies in the Humber region. You can read the full report here.
  • Drax recently announced it was kickstarting the planning process to develop BECCS. Work could get underway at Drax as soon as 2024, creating tens of thousands of jobs. By 2027 Drax’s first BECCS unit could be operational, delivering the UK’s largest carbon capture project and permanently removing millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year.

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 2,900-strong employees operate across three principal areas of activity – electricity generation, electricity sales to business customers and compressed wood pellet production.

Power generation:

Drax owns and operates a portfolio of flexible, low carbon and renewable electricity generation assets across Britain. The assets include the UK’s largest power station, based at Selby, North Yorkshire, which supplies five percent of the country’s electricity needs.

Having converted two thirds of Drax Power Station to use sustainable biomass instead of coal it has become the UK’s biggest renewable power generator and the largest decarbonisation project in Europe. 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.

Customers:

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

Pellet production:

Drax owns and operates three pellet mills in the US South which manufacture compressed wood pellets (biomass) produced from sustainably managed working forests. These pellet mills supply around 20% of the biomass used by Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses.

For more information visit www.drax.com

 

 

Drax Group CEO says Budget ‘sets out plans for the UK’s economic recovery’

3 March 2021

Press releases
Bench with view of the Humber Bridge

“Today’s Budget sets out plans for the UK’s economic recovery – a Freeport in the Humber will make business cheaper and easier whilst an ambitious carbon price will help the UK meet its climate obligations by creating revenue to invest in essential green technologies and demonstrate climate leadership ahead of COP26.

Drax Group CEO Will Gardiner

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

“Investing in green technologies like bioenergy with carbon capture and storage at Drax to deliver negative emissions, and decarbonising other industries in the Humber would boost skills and create tens of thousands of jobs – helping to level up and deliver clean growth.”

Drax kickstarts application process to build vital negative emissions technology

1 March 2021

Press releases
Drax Power Station with biomass domes on a blue sky day

  • Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) is an essential negative emissions technology needed for the UK to meet its legally binding net zero by 2050 target and demonstrate global climate leadership.

  • Work to build BECCS could get underway at Drax as soon as 2024, creating tens of thousands of jobs and supporting a post-covid economic recovery

  • By 2027 Drax’s first BECCS unit could be operational, delivering the UK’s largest carbon capture project and permanently removing millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year.

Biomass domes and conveyor system at Drax Power Station, North Yorkshire

Biomass domes and conveyor system at Drax Power Station, North Yorkshire [Click to view/download]

Drax is to kickstart the planning process for its proposals to build ground-breaking negative emissions technology, bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), marking a major milestone in the project.

The energy company has already transformed its power station near Selby in North Yorkshire to become the largest decarbonisation project in Europe having converted it to use sustainable biomass instead of coal.

Now it has ambitions to go further by using BECCS to permanently remove millions of tonnes of CO2 each year from the atmosphere and create a negative carbon footprint for the company.

In order to deploy this cutting edge, negative emissions technology Drax must secure a Development Consent Order (DCO) from the government – a process which takes around two years to complete, and which will get underway in March.

Will Gardiner, Drax Group CEO said:

“Kickstarting the DCO process this March is a landmark moment in deploying BECCS at Drax and delivering against our ambition to be a carbon negative company by 2030.

Drax Group CEO Will Gardiner

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

“At Drax we are very proud of the great strides already made in transforming the business to become the UK’s largest single site renewable power generator, producing enough renewable electricity for up to four million homes and protecting thousands of jobs in the process.

“With BECCS we can go even further – we will be permanently removing millions of tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere and making a significant contribution to efforts to address the climate emergency, whilst creating thousands of new jobs and supporting a post-covid, economic recovery.”

Drax recently announced the proposed acquisition of Pinnacle Renewable Energy Inc – a Canadian wood pellet producer. The deal, which is subject to shareholder and other approvals, would double Drax’s own biomass production capacity, in line with its strategy to increase self-supply, reduce costs and create a long term future for biomass – paving the way for the deployment of BECCS.

If successful in its DCO application, and subject to the right investment framework from government, work to build Drax’s first two BECCS units could get underway in 2024, ready to start capturing and storing up to eight million tonnes of CO2 a year.

The first phase of the DCO application process includes an informal public consultation during March, when people can provide comments on Drax’s proposals for BECCS via the project website.

Train transporting biomass wood pellets arriving at Drax Power Station

Train transporting biomass wood pellets arriving at Drax Power Station [Click to view/download]

Earlier this month Drax sold its four gas power stations and last week announced as part of its 2020 financial results that it will not be progressing plans to develop high efficiency gas power at the Drax site in North Yorkshire.

The news comes a year after Drax said it would end almost 50 years of commercial coal-fired electricity generation at Drax Power Station in March 2021 and is aligned with its intention to focus on renewable generation from biomass and hydro.

ENDS

Turbine blades at Drax Power Station

Turbine blades at Drax Power Station [Click to view/download]

Media contacts: 

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

Editor’s Notes

BECCS consultation:

  • Due to covid restrictions, Drax’s BECCS DCO consultation events will take place online.
  • Members of the public can find out more and provide comments on the proposals via live QA and chat events on:
    • Tuesday March 9, 4pm to 8pm
    • Thursday March 11, 4pm to 8pm
    • Saturday March 13, 10am to 2pm
  • Individual calls can also be booked with a member of the project team, on Tuesday March 23, via the website.
  • The deadline for comments on the proposals is midnight on Sunday March 28, 2021.
  • The feedback will be used to inform more detailed plans which will be subject to a formal consultation later in the year.
  • Final plans are expected to be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate in 2022.

Drax is a founding member of the Zero Carbon Humber, a partnership of 12 leading businesses and organisations, which jointly submitted a public-private sector funded bid worth around £75m to the UK Government to establish a CCS and hydrogen economy in the Humber region.

As the UK’s most carbon intensive industrial region, the benefits of decarbonising the Humber would have the greatest impact on enabling the country to reach its legally binding net zero by 2050 target, whilst generating clean growth for the economy.

Deploying hydrogen production at scale for fuel-switching, as well as carbon capture to decarbonise gas power and other industries, alongside BECCS at Drax, could create and support tens of thousands of jobs in the Humber region at its peak in 2027.

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 2,900 employees operate across three principal areas of activity – electricity generation, electricity sales to business customers and compressed wood pellet production.

Power generation:

Drax owns and operates a portfolio of 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 two thirds of Drax Power Station to use sustainable biomass instead of coal it has become the UK’s biggest renewable power generator and the largest decarbonisation project in Europe. 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.

Customers:  

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

Pellet production:

Drax owns and operates three pellet mills in the US South which manufacture compressed wood pellets (biomass) produced from sustainably managed working forests. These pellet mills supply around 20% of the biomass used by Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses.

For more information visit www.drax.com

Britain’s greenest year yet but new technologies still needed to hit climate targets

15 February 2021

Press releases
Biomass domes
  • 2020 was a record year for renewables with biomass, hydro, solar and wind power generating more power than fossil fuels for the first time
  • Carbon emissions from electricity generation fell by 16% as gas and coal power stations were turned off or down due to reduced demand during Covid lockdowns
  • Experts warn UK must embrace new but proven technologies like bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) to meet climate targets in years ahead.

Independent analysis conducted by academics from Imperial College London for Drax Electric Insights, via Imperial Consultants, shows the UK will require a range of new green technologies, which complement renewables like wind and solar, as part of its efforts to meet its national climate goals.

Whilst power from renewables overtook fossil fuels for the first time in 2020 – and carbon emissions fell by 16% year-on-year, this was in a large part due to reduced demand caused by Covid lockdowns, when gas and coal power stations were turned down.

Wind and solar generated 30% of Britain’s electricity in 2020 – around half the share required by 2025 for the UK to reach its climate targets according to the Climate Change Committee (CCC).

The Electric Insights report shows that achieving the CCC’s targets will also require a range of other technologies, such as bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), hydrogen and nuclear.

Dr Iain Staffell of Imperial College London, and lead author of the quarterly Electric Insights report, said:

“2020 saw Britain edge closer to the power system of the future with renewables generating more power than fossil fuels. Flexible technologies like pumped hydro storage kept the system stable as supply from renewables increased and demand for power fell.

“The next steps we must take towards a net zero power system will be more challenging – driving out the last sources of fossil carbon will require us to go beyond just having more wind and solar power. New business models, backed by policy and investment, will be needed to bring advanced-but-proven technologies into the mainstream.

“This means that the electricity used in homes, hospitals, offices and factories could even be carbon negative – sourced from a range of low, zero carbon and negative emissions technologies.”

Last year, a report by Vivid Economics found that deploying cutting edge green technologies like BECCS and hydrogen could create and support around 200,000 jobs across the UK to support a post-covid, green economic recovery.

Will Gardiner, Drax Group CEO, said:

“Drax is Europe’s largest decarbonisation project having transformed Britain’s biggest power station to use sustainable biomass instead of coal, creating the country’s largest single-site renewable electricity generator whilst supporting thousands of jobs.

“Biomass is unique amongst renewable technologies due to its versatility, from being used in power generation to hydrogen production – and even new forms of plastics. Add to this its ability to deliver negative emissions with BECCS – biomass is one of our most valuable tools for reaching net zero emissions – a technology Drax is ready to invest in.”

ENDS

Media contacts:

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

Ali Lewis
Drax Group Head of Media & PR
E: [email protected]
T: 07712670888

Editor’s Notes

  • Renewable power supplied 41.6% of Britain’s electricity in 2020 compared to 39.6% by fossil fuels – the first-time renewable sources generated more power than fossil fuels over a whole year.
  • Biomass, wind and solar all generated record amounts of power over the course of the year.
  • Power from Britain’s few remain coal units supplied just 1.6% of the country’s electricity, down from 2.1% in 2019
  • The CCC forecast that the share of electricity generated from wind and solar in Britain must reach 50% by 2025 and climb to 69% by 2030.
  • Electric Insights data is for Great Britain, whereas CCC data also includes Northern Ireland and therefore covers the whole of the UK.

About Electric Insights

  • Electric Insights is commissioned by Drax and delivered by a team of independent academics from Imperial College London, facilitated by the college’s consultancy company – Imperial Consultants. The quarterly report analyses raw data made publicly available by National Grid and Elexon, which run the electricity and balancing market respectively, and Sheffield Solar.
  • Electric Insights Quarterly focuses on supply and demand, prices, emissions, the performance of the various generation technologies and the network that connects them.
  • The quarterly reports from the last four years can be access at the new reports.electricinsights.co.uk website alongside the interactive electricinsights.co.uk which provides data from 2009 until the present.
  • You can embed Electric Insight’s live dashboard on your website or blog to keep track of what’s happening in the power grid through a new widget.

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 2,900 employees operate across three principal areas of activity – electricity generation, electricity sales to business customers and compressed wood pellet production.

Power generation:

Drax owns and operates a portfolio of 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 two thirds of Drax Power Station to use sustainable biomass instead of coal it has become the UK’s biggest renewable power generator and the largest decarbonisation project in Europe. 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.

Customers:  

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

Pellet production:

Drax owns and operates three pellet mills in the US South which manufacture compressed wood pellets (biomass) produced from sustainably managed working forests. These pellet mills supply around 20% of the biomass used by Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses.

For more information visit www.drax.com