Archives: Press Release

UK tops global decarbonisation league amid renewable revolution

30 November 2020

Press releases

  • UK’s electricity system has more than halved its carbon intensity in the last decade, decarbonising twice as fast as any other major economy, demonstrating the UK’s climate leadership ahead of COP26.

  • The rise of renewables means British households have reduced their CO2 emissions by three quarters of a tonne per year – equivalent to the CO2 emitted when a family of four flies off on holiday to Spain.

  • New ambitious targets to grow offshore wind to 40 gigawatts by 2030 in the UK will require the expansion of energy storage technologies able to capture excess power.

Independent analysis conducted via Imperial Consultants, by academics from Imperial College London for Drax Electric Insights shows the UK’s move away from coal to renewable power sources, such as biomass and wind, has dramatically driven down carbon emissions.

The change in electricity carbon intensity in the world’s thirty largest markets over the last decade [Click to view/download]

Renewable power has grown six-fold in the last decade, helping the UK to cut its carbon intensity by 58%. This is double the reduction seen in other major economies over the same period.

Generation from coal fell from 30 per cent to just two per cent of power produced over the period, with renewables rising at the same time, from eight per cent to supplying 42 per cent of the country’s electricity.

The changes to where our electricity comes from means British households have each reduced their CO2 emissions by three quarters of a tonne per year compared to the start of the decade, which is roughly equivalent to the CO2generated by a family of four taking a return flight from the UK to Spain.

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

“The UK has decarbonised its power grid at an astonishing rate. Over the last decade the country has transformed itself from relying on coal to keep the lights on, to having its first coal-free month since the industrial revolution. While this progress in the power sector has been rapid, we now need to decarbonise wider society by using electricity to heat our homes and power our cars to achieve net zero by 2050. As the world marks five years since the Paris Agreement the UK offers an example of how fast energy transitions can be made.”

The UK’s power system is set to grow even greener after the Prime Minister set a new target of installing 40 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind by 2030. However, the Drax Electric Insights report also outlines the need for the UK grid to become more flexible to deliver this ambition, with careful management required to keep the system stable once this ambition is realised.

Upwards of 37 TWh of excess electricity will be generated annually amid diverging weather and demand by 2030 – with wind and solar power being unable to provide all the services needed to stabilise the system and maintain secure supplies. One solution to this challenge is to expand storage capacity by increasing the role pumped storage hydro plays in storing  excess power when supply outstrips demand and then to rapidly plug gaps when the wind is not blowing, to provide fast, flexible power and greater system stability.

Will Gardiner, Drax Group CEO said:

“The UK has made incredible progress decarbonising the electricity system over the last decade – for its part Drax has drastically reduced its carbon emissions by 85% as a result of transforming the power station in North Yorkshire to use sustainable biomass instead of coal making it the largest decarbonisation project in Europe.

“We share the Government’s ambition to go even further. By embracing bioenergy with carbon capture and storage and flexible technologies liked pumped storage hydro we will enable the UK’s power system to evolve and provide the secure and sustainable electricity supplies a zero carbon economy needs, supporting the government’s ten point plan for climate change, whilst levelling up the economy.”

Drax recognises the potential of pumped storage hydro and is considering how its iconic Cruachan site could be expanded.

The Group aims to become carbon negative by 2030 through pioneering bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) at Drax Power Station, in North Yorkshire, which could deliver millions of tonnes of negative emissions and simultaneously provide the grid with vital stability services while creating thousands of new jobs.

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: 07712 670 888

Electric Insights Q3 2020 report [click to view/download]

Editor’s Notes

  • The UK’s carbon intensity has fallen from from 450 grams of CO2 per kWh to 195g/kWh since 2010.
  • The CO2 emissions per passenger emitted by a return flight from London Heathrow to Madrid is 195kg – which adds up to 780kg for a family of four.
  • Renewables provided their largest ever instantaneous share of power, providing Britain with 72.5% of its power at one point in the quarter.
  • Drax announced its ambition to be carbon negative by 2030, by using BECCS at scale at its North Yorkshire power station last year.
  • A feasibility study was conducted into expanding Cruachan in 2016 and Drax is considering ways to unlock its full potential to support renewables.

For more information visit electricinsights.co.uk or download the full report.

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-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.  It also owns and operates four gas power stations in England.

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

Will Gardiner responds to the Government’s spending review

25 November 2020

Press releases
Drax Group CEO Will Gardiner

“Today’s Spending Review setting out the next stages of the Government’s record investment plans in infrastructure to drive a green recovery underscores the significant role for businesses in the North, like Drax, who will be at the heart of a green industrial revolution – attracting investment and creating jobs and helping the UK show climate leadership ahead of COP26 next year.

“Investing in new green technologies like bioenergy with carbon capture and storage at Drax to deliver negative emissions, and decarbonising other industries in the Humber cluster would boost skills and create tens of thousands of jobs – helping to level up while delivering over £3bn in clean growth.”

Coalition for Negative Emissions responds to Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution

18 November 2020

Press releases
Engineers at Drax Power Station

Removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through a combination of bioenergy with carbon capture, direct air capture, management of trees and other nature-based solutions will be critical to making net zero a reality in the UK.

Today’s commitment from the Prime Minister to have four industrial clusters in the UK by 2030, supported by £200m of additional funding, will be vital to unlocking the carbon capture infrastructure needed for BECCS and DACCS projects to progress in the 2020s.

In doing so, the UK can become a world leader in these technologies and avoid the costs of delayed action.

The 2030 target of 10 million tonnes per year of CO2 removed should create a competitive market to capture and store CO2 at large scale, as well as usage.

The Coalition for Negative Emissions includes Biomass UK, Carbon Engineering, Carbon Removal Centre, CBI, CCSA, Climeworks, Drax, Energy UK, Heathrow, IAG, REA, NFU and Velocys.

49,000 new jobs in cutting edge green energy industries could boost Northern economy

Press releases
Engineer on roof of Drax Power Station

  • Cutting edge green energy technologies to decarbonise industries in the Humber would boost skills, create jobs and deliver the clean growth needed to regenerate the UK’s most carbon-intensive region, according to research for Drax

  • Using carbon capture and hydrogen technologies to decarbonise the Humber would generate thousands of jobs from as early as 2024, kickstarting a whole new industry in the UK

  • Carbon capture and hydrogen could deliver more than 205,000 jobs nationally, attracting investment as well as new export opportunities to support a green industrial revolution

  • This is a huge opportunity for the Humber and the UK to demonstrate global climate leadership ahead of COP26 in 2021.

Cutting edge green energy technologies in the Humber could boost skills, create tens of thousands of jobs and transform the region’s fortunes in the face of economic uncertainty caused by the Covid crisis, according to a new report from Vivid Economics.

The report was commissioned by Drax Group, a founding member of the Zero Carbon Humber partnership, to evaluate the socio-economic potential large-scale deployment of cutting-edge green energy technologies would have on the region and the UK.

Vivid Economics’ analysis shows that scaling up bioenergy with carbon capture technology (BECCS), which Drax has already successfully proven at its power station in North Yorkshire, would support almost 17,000 jobs during construction in 2028.

Will Gardiner, Drax Group CEO, said:

Drax Group CEO Will Gardiner

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

“The boost to the economy created by developing these new green energy technologies in the Yorkshire and Humber region would be huge – and we can do it quickly.

“The technologies are ready to go, so tens of thousands of jobs could be created as early as 2024.  This would deliver a real shot in the arm to communities struggling as a result of the Covid crisis.

“The positive impacts of these new green energy schemes aren’t limited to the Humber region, either. This could kickstart a whole new industry in the UK, enabling us to show the world what can be achieved for the environment and the economy when governments, businesses and communities work together.”

Using carbon capture technology across Drax’s four biomass units would accelerate the UK’s efforts to reach net zero by permanently removing 16 million tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere each year – a significant proportion of the negative emissions the UK needs to meet its net zero targets.

With the right policies from government, BECCS could be operational at Drax as soon as 2027, accelerating the Humber’s efforts to become the UK’s first zero carbon industrial cluster. Other industries across the region would tap into the same CO2 transportation and storage infrastructure, enabling further decarbonisation.

In October Drax was one of 12 leading businesses and organisations as part of the Zero Carbon Humber Partnership to jointly submit a public-private sector funded bid worth around £75m to the UK Government to establish a CCS and hydrogen economy in the region.

Click to view/download

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 as many as 49,000 jobs in the Humber region at its peak in 2027.

Jobs infographic

Click to view/download

Click to view/download

Henri Murison, director of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said:

“This report shows what could be achieved across the Yorkshire and Humber region and wider Northern Powerhouse by developing BECCS at Drax and hydrogen in the Humber – cutting carbon emissions, protecting jobs in existing industries and creating many more new jobs throughout the region at a critical time.

“The Humber is already spearheading the UK’s sustainable energy revolution, and through further investment in these sectors we can hope to unlock yet more economic potential for the North. Companies like Drax play a vital role in decarbonising the economy and closing the North – South divide to build back better.”

Engineer within Drax Power StationBritish Chamber of Commerce Director General Adam Marshall said:

“Coronavirus has had a significant impact on our business communities. To help them restart, rebuild and renew, the government will need to set a clear framework and invest in greener, more sustainable technologies to not only meet our carbon goals, but help boost local growth and create the jobs of the future.”

In order to unlock the potential a Zero Carbon Humber could create for the UK’s green revolution, Drax is working with partners to ensure people in the region have the skills needed for the new jobs that could be created. It is supporting career enhancing schemes which help to level the playing field, remove barriers to learning, boosting skills and retraining.

Andrew Percy MP for Brigg and Goole said:

“With the development of a Zero Carbon Humber, within less than five years, this region could be at the forefront of the Government’s green industrial revolution. Tens of thousands of jobs could be protected and created, supporting the North as it bounces forward from the Covid pandemic.”

Click to view/download

Lia Nici MP for Great Grimsby added:

“Ensuring local people have the skills needed to take full advantage of the opportunities created by these new energy technologies is critical. The Government as well as businesses, training providers, schools, colleges and communities must come together to support this initiative, so we’re ready to make the proposals a reality.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

The Vivid Economics Capturing Carbon at Drax: Delivering jobs, clean growth and levelling up the Humber, report found that:

  • Front page of Vivid report for DraxAs many as 49,000 jobs would be created and supported in the Humber region if bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), as well as hydrogen and other carbon removal technologies, are deployed to decarbonise industry.
  • With government backing for the proposals, these new jobs could begin to be created as early as 2024, peaking at 49,000 jobs in 2027.
  • Within the jobs created in the Humber there would be around 25,000 high quality roles in construction – as well as welders, pipe fitters, machine installers and technicians; with a further 24,000 supported across the supply chain and wider economy in 2027.
  • In addition there would be 3,300 longer term operational and maintenance roles created.
  • The initiative would also deliver over £3bn in GVA for the regional economy in 2027.
  • Without intervention and investment to spur a green recovery in the region there is a serious risk of longer-term economic damage as a high proportion of people have been furloughed in the Yorkshire and Humber region during the Covid crisis.
  • Almost 60% of workers in the construction industry in the Yorkshire and Humber region were furloughed in August 2020.
  • If deployed in the UK’s five major industrial clusters (Humber, Teesside, Merseyside, South Wales, Scotland) CCUS and Hydrogen technologies will support 205,000 jobs in 2039 both directly, and through the supply chain and wider economy.

To find out more about the Zero Carbon Humber go to the website. The Zero Carbon Humber Partnership could kickstart a new CCS and hydrogen industry and includes Associated British Ports, British Steel, Centrica Storage Ltd, Drax Group, Equinor, Mitsubishi Power, National Grid Ventures, px Group, SSE Thermal, Saltend Cogeneration Company Limited, Uniper and the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC).

Map showing the proposed Zero Carbon Humber pipeline route, and the largest industrial clusters by emissions in the UK, as well as an infographic showing what a zero carbon industrial cluster could look like in the Humber are available online.

Drax is playing its part to ensure people in the Yorkshire and Humber region have the skills needed for the new jobs a low carbon economy in the Humber could create, by:

  • Developing career enhancing schemes which help to level the playing field and create opportunities for all – Drax has signed up to the Social Mobility Pledge
  • Supporting skills and retraining through partnerships with colleges and training providers – a new £180,000 partnership with Selby College
  • Removing barriers to learning and helping to create more career opportunities within the energy industry. Drax is soon launching Drax ‘Mobilising a Million’ – its new bold ambition to improve skills, education, employability and apprenticeships for one million people by 2025

Drax has taken an active role in supporting its communities and business customers since the Covid crisis started, by investing more than £750,000 in schemes such as:

  • Donating 853 laptops to 50 schools and colleges across the country, including 412 to 20 schools across Yorkshire, the Humber and Lincolnshire
  • Supplying free energy to 189 care homes
  • Donating £150,000 to the Business Debtline to help SMEs facing financial hardship during the Covid crisis

Media contacts:

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

Selina Williams
Drax Group Media Manager
E: [email protected]
T: 07912230393

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.  It also owns and operates four gas power stations in England.

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

UK’s largest power station lights up poppy appeal

5 November 2020

Press releases

The projection at the UK’s largest single site renewable power generator should be visible from miles around to commemorate those involved in the two world wars and other conflicts.

Bruce Heppenstall, Plant Director at Drax, said:

“Drax has a proud history of supporting the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal. By projecting the symbol of remembrance on to one of our cooling towers we are aiming to show armed forces personnel throughout the generations the gratitude we feel for the sacrifices they’ve made.

“Covid restrictions mean it’s going to be difficult for people to come together safely at remembrance services and for charities to fundraise in the usual way this year. By Drax marking the occasion with this projection, we hope local communities will still be able to pay their respects and support the Royal British Legion, which provides lifelong support to our armed forces community.”

Bruce Heppenstall, Plant Director at Drax and Alex Wood Warehouse Manager and ex-Arm Staff Sergeant in front of the cooling tower.

Bruce Heppenstall, Plant Director at Drax and Alex Wood Warehouse Manager and ex-Army Staff Sergeant in front of the cooling tower.

Drax, near Selby in North Yorkshire, will use an outdoor projection unit, to project the images onto one of the power station’s 114m tall cooling towers from 6pm to 10pm on Remembrance Sunday, November 8 and Armistice Day, Wednesday November 11.

Alex Wood, Warehouse Manager at Drax is an ex-Army Staff Sergeant, who organises the annual Poppy Appeal at the power station. He said:

“I’m proud to work for an organisation that supports the Royal British Legion. There are at least 20 ex-armed forces personnel working at Drax, as well as several Army Reserves. The help the Legion provides for veterans like me is fantastic, with many of us relying on this support to help transition to civilian lives.”

As well as the projection, Drax is also donating £1,000 to the Poppy Appeal and will be laying wreaths at war memorials local to its operations across the UK.

Drax has the capacity to generate enough renewable electricity for four million households, and has measures in place to keep its employees safe during the Covid-19 pandemic, ensuring they can continue to safely operate the power station, which is critical national infrastructure, generating the power millions of homes and businesses rely on.

Featured image caption: A Poppy projected onto a cooling tower at Drax Power Station during a ‘practice run’ which took place this week ahead of Remembrance Sunday’s projection.

ENDS

Media contacts:

Ben Wicks
Media Manager
E: [email protected]
T: 07761 525 662

Megan Hopgood
Drax Group Media Intern
E: [email protected]
T: 07936 350 175

Editor’s Notes

For more information about the British Legion’s Poppy Appeal and details of how to donate, please visit the website.

Cooling tower facts:

  • Each of the 12 cooling towers at Drax are 114m tall and 93m in diameter at the base.
  • You could fit the Statue of Liberty inside each one.
  • The dimensions of the cooling towers are such that if they were scaled down to be the size of an egg, the thickness of the cooling tower walls would be the same as an eggshell – so whilst the walls could be viewed as being quite delicate, the hyperboloid shape of the cooling towers gives them strength to withstand harsh weather conditions. The ones at Drax date from almost 50 years ago when the first half of the power station was built and came into operation in 1974.
  • The power station works by using boilers to heat water and make high pressure steam, which is used to spin turbines and generate electricity. The steam is then cooled inside the cooling towers, and the water is returned to the boiler to be heated again.

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.  It also owns and operates four gas power stations in England.

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 response to Northern Endurance Partnership announcement

26 October 2020

Press releases
Jason Shipstone, EVP Innovation

“Kickstarting the development of the transportation and storage infrastructure required to permanently lock away industrial CO2 emissions moves us closer to achieving Drax’s world-leading ambition to be a carbon negative company by 2030. It is also critical to the decarbonisation of many other businesses across the North.

“The formation of the Northern Endurance Partnership is therefore a very exciting development, which supports the plans for industrial decarbonisation across Yorkshire and the Humber, protecting jobs and delivering a post-Covid green recovery.”

View Northern Endurance Partnership press release on Zero Carbon Humber website.

Drax to boost skills and training with five-year Selby College partnership

15 October 2020

Press releases

The five-year partnership will enable the college to deliver community education programmes, as well as support for retraining, to ensure students are developing the skills needed in innovative clean technologies which will help to drive a zero carbon economy.

Upgrading Drax Power Station to use sustainable biomass instead of coal has transformed the business to become the largest decarbonisation project in Europe, protecting jobs and preserving the life of the power station.

Located just outside Selby in North Yorkshire, Drax is now the UK’s largest single site renewable power generator and pioneer of cutting edge negative emissions technology, Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) which could enable the company to go even further and become carbon negative as soon as 2030.

Bruce Heppenstall, Drax Power Station Plant Director, said:

“Through this partnership with Selby College we are looking beyond the Covid crisis towards a green economic recovery, powered by talented people and exciting, innovative technologies, like BECCS which Drax is pioneering.

“This partnership with Selby College will help people in our communities to learn the skills needed to pursue jobs in the green economy, and enable companies like Drax to continue to grow, and build a strong regional economy with thriving communities.”

Selby College been educating students in the heart of North Yorkshire for more than 35 years, providing education and training opportunities for more than 5,500 students, aged 16 right up to 70+.

Phil Sayles, Principal and Chief Executive of Selby College, said:

“We are delighted to be launching this partnership with Drax. Selby College is committed to supporting the community and has a strong track record of working with industries to understand their needs and develop tailored training packages to support workforce development. Creating education programmes that support upskilling and retraining are crucial for the UK as we look to the future, creating a green workforce that employers like Drax need.”

The package of support from Drax will see the college:

  • Hold a series of events starting with a virtual conference on Green Energy in the spring, with high-profile key-note speakers, to help inspire students from local secondary schools to pursue careers in the sector
  • Invest in ICT equipment to help even more students to study both in college and at home, making sure that no young person or adult learner is left behind if they need to self-isolate due to coronavirus.
  • Purchase new science and engineering Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for students and support investment in state-of-the-art equipment over the next five years to support learning.

Nigel Adams MP, Member of Parliament for Selby and Ainsty, said:

“This is a perfect partnership, Drax at the forefront of developing and introducing new technologies for zero carbon energy generation and Selby College at the forefront of providing students with the knowledge and skills on which to build a successful career.

“I know both organisations very well and supported Drax in the conversion to green energy generation and must thank Selby College for their long-standing commitment to local employment including apprenticeship training and hosting my Jobs Fairs. This partnership will open up new opportunities for local people and enable them to develop the skills needed for our future. They will both continue to have my full support.”

Drax is working with a number of businesses on the Zero Carbon Humber initiative which aims to deploy carbon capture and hydrogen technology to decarbonise the UK’s largest industrial cluster by 2040.

Stephen Parnaby OBE, Chair of the Humber Local Enterprise Partnership, said:

“The Humber region is the most carbon intensive in the UK – using cutting edge technologies to  decarbonise businesses here will make a significant contribution to the UK’s climate targets, whilst protecting 55,000 jobs.

“A skilled workforce is essential – the partnership between Drax and Selby College will play an important role in helping to create a cleaner environment for future generations whilst delivering new jobs and export opportunities for British businesses.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

  • Drax has a history of supporting education and skills in the communities local to its operations. Earlier this year it invested more than £750,000 in support for its customers and local communities during the Covid-19 crisis, including donating 853 laptops to 50 schools and colleges across the country, including 412 to 20 schools across Yorkshire, Humberside and Lincolnshire
  • Prior to the covid crisis, around 12,000 people visited Drax for educational tours each year, many of whom were students, visiting as part of Drax’s efforts to work with schools and colleges to promote Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects
  • To ensure school pupils didn’t miss out on these important tours and valuable experience of the world of work during the Covid-19 crisis, the company has created virtual tours for people to access online and has also teamed up with Oak National Academy to provide virtual work experience to students.
  • In December last year Drax announced its world-leading ambition to use BECCS to permanently remove more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it produces right across its operations – creating a negative carbon footprint for the company by 2030 and making a significant contribution towards the UK’s net zero target.
  • BECCS at Drax could underpin a Zero Carbon Humber whereby other industrial businesses in the region could tap into the same carbon transportation and storage infrastructure enabling the wider decarbonisation across the region.
  • Selby College’s 5,500 students have access to courses ranging from entry level up to degree courses, including NVQ‘s in Engineering, Construction, Administration, Health and Social Care, and Hairdressing

Media contacts:

Ben Wicks
Drax Media Manager
E: [email protected]
T: 07761 525 662

Megan Hopgood
Drax Group Media Intern
E: [email protected]
T: 07867 536 335

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.  It also owns and operates four gas power stations in England.

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

About Selby College

Selby College is a highly rated College in the heart of North Yorkshire, providing education and training opportunities for students aged 16 right up to 70+. Learners from all over Yorkshire and the Humber travel to Selby College because of its reputation for high-quality education.

Providing a wealth of courses and clear progression routes, Selby College offers A Levels, Vocational courses, Apprenticeships, Higher Education, Adult Learning and Professional Courses for Employers.

Established in 1984, the College today employs more than 250 full-time teaching and support staff. Following a £35m investment in its state-of-the-art campus, Selby College boasts some of the most up-to-date facilities of any education provider in the area.

Selby College is also playing a leading role alongside other local institutions in the development of the Yorkshire & Humber Institute of Technology, which is one of twelve of its kind across the country designed to increase higher-level technical skills for employers. The College has also been selected by the Department of Education to deliver its brand-new T Level qualifications from September 2022, which are high-quality technical alternatives to A Levels.

For more information visit www.selby.ac.uk