Archives: Press Release

The Board of Drax Group plc is pleased to announce that Will Gardiner has been appointed as Finance Director.

His appointment will take effect on 16 November 2015. He will succeed Tony Quinlan, who resigned as a director of the Company on 31 May 2015. Michael Scott, who has been Interim Finance Director since Tony’s resignation, will continue in that role until Will takes up his appointment.

Will has been Chief Financial Officer of CSR plc, a global semiconductor business, since 2008. CSR was acquired by Qualcomm Inc. on 13 August 2015. He had previously been a Divisional Finance Director of BSKYB and Chief Financial Officer of Easynet Group plc. Will graduated from Harvard and Johns Hopkins Universities, and spent the early part of his career in corporate finance with Citibank and JP Morgan.

Commenting on the appointment Phil Cox, Chairman of Drax, said:
“The Directors are delighted to welcome Will to the Board of Drax. He brings a wealth of experience and skills, and will be a strong addition to the Drax team. I also extend the directors’ thanks to Michael Scott who has done an excellent job as Interim Finance Director.”

ENDS

Contact

Andrew Brown
Director of Communications
+44 1757 612 165
+44 7721 513 777
[email protected]

Notes to Editors

Photo

A high resolution photo of Mr Gardiner is available via Dropbox and at: www.drax.com/news/media-images

About Drax

Drax Group plc is an innovative energy company that owns and operates the UK’s largest power station in Selby, North Yorkshire, typically providing some 8% of the UK’s electricity. A vital strategic asset, the Group is transforming itself into a major biomass fuelled electricity generator through its use of innovative technology and sustainably sourced biomass. The largest decarbonisation project in Europe is underway to provide the UK with cost effective, low carbon, and reliable renewable power.

The Group employs around 1400 people and also includes:

Drax Biomass, based in the US focused on the self-supply of some of its sustainable biomass requirements.

Haven Power, the Group’s retail arm, providing business electricity contracts that are simple, flexible and designed to customers specific requirements.

Billington Bioenergy, is one of the leading distributors of wood pellets for sustainable heating in the UK.

Selby, Yorkshire: Drax today announced it remained committed to fulfilling its current work on a Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) feasibility and technology development project (FEED), but once completed, would not be investing further and will withdraw as a partner of Capture Power Ltd, the developer of the White Rose CCS project.

The two year project is being taken forward by the Capture Power partnership – made up of Drax, Alstom and BOC and is looking at the potential to capture up to 90% of carbon emissions from a new coal fired power station and safely store them beneath the North Sea. The project is due to conclude during the next 6-12 months.

Drax has also confirmed that while at that point it would cease to commit further investment, it will continue to make the site owned by Drax, along with the infrastructure at the Power Plant, available for the project to be built.

Drax Group Operations Director, and Capture Power Board Director, Pete Emery said:

“We remain fully committed to completing what we’ve signed up to – the completion of a study into the feasibility and development of world leading technology that could result in dramatic reductions in carbon emissions produced by power stations and heavy industry.

“We are confident the technology we have developed has real potential, but have reluctantly taken a decision not to invest any further in the development of this project. The decision is based purely on a drastically different financial and regulatory environment and we must put the interests of the business and our shareholders first.

“We will focus our resources on the areas which we can deliver best value, particularly working with Government to explore the potential for converting a fourth generating unit to run on sustainable biomass.

“Drax still believes this project has great potential and we have announced that the site at the Drax Power Plant, along with our existing infrastructure remain available for the project to be built.”

ENDS

Contacts

Paul Hodgson
Head of Media Relations
+44 1757 612 026
+44 7525 590 271
[email protected]

Andrew Brown
Director of Communications
+44 1757 612 165
+44 7721 513 777
[email protected]

About Drax Group plc

Drax Group plc is an innovative energy company that owns and operates the UK’s largest power station in Selby, North Yorkshire, typically providing some 8% of the UK’s electricity. A vital strategic asset, the Group is transforming itself into a major biomass fuelled electricity generator through its use of innovative technology and sustainably sourced biomass. The largest decarbonisation project in Europe is underway to provide the UK with cost effective, low carbon, and reliable renewable power.
The Group employs around 1400 people and also includes:

Drax Biomass, based in the US focused on the self-supply of some of its sustainable biomass requirements.

Haven Power, the Group’s retail arm, providing business electricity contracts that are simple, flexible and designed to customers specific requirements.

Billington Bioenergy, is one of the leading distributors of wood pellets for sustainable heating in the UK.

For more information visit www.drax.com

Some 60 aspiring young artists in the Goole and Selby area attended Summer Art and Crafts schools at Drax Power Station this week to brush up on their artistic abilities and creative talent.

The free events, held over three days were run by David Anderson, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.  David, who is a skilled artist, designer and illustrator created the activities for the three days as well as giving advice and demonstrations in drawing and painting techniques.

The children aged 7 to 10 learnt how to transfer their designs on to a variety of items including porcelain mugs and linen bags, as well as moulding scenes from air-dry clay and personalising their own apron. A Master Class for 11 to 14 year-olds helped them learn simple yet effective drawing and painting techniques, resulting in their very own watercolour masterpiece.

David Anderson said: “It’s fantastic to see the enthusiasm, imagination and creativity displayed over the three days. Both age groups were keen to try out different ideas and worked hard to improve their skills, techniques and knowledge.”

The Summer Art schools are now in their eighth year and are organised by Drax to build on its Art in the Community scheme to encourage and develop art appreciation as part of the company’s support for education and to promote art learning within the National Curriculum.

For more information, please contact:

Mandy Empson, Drax

01757 618381

About Drax

Drax Group plc is an innovative energy company that owns and operates the UK’s largest power station in Selby, North Yorkshire, typically providing some 8% of the UK’s electricity. A vital strategic asset, the Group is transforming itself into a major biomass fuelled electricity generator through its use of innovative technology and sustainably sourced biomass. The largest decarbonisation project in Europe is underway to provide the UK with cost effective, low carbon, and reliable renewable power.

The Group employs around 1400 people and also includes:

Drax Biomass, based in the US focused on the self-supply of some of its sustainable biomass requirements.

Haven Power, the Group’s retail arm, providing business electricity contracts that are simple, flexible and designed to their specific requirements.

Billington Bioenergy, is one of the leading distributors of wood pellets for sustainable heating in the UK.

New research commissioned by Drax has revealed 31% of people are willing to pay nearly £10 more on average to support green energy. They are clear this would be on top of the amount already paid through their energy bills to encourage the shift to low-carbon energy sources.

The ComRes survey shows there is very little understanding of the proportion of an energy bill that goes towards green energy, with the majority saying they don’t know and 17% saying it’s more than £100.

When the actual average amount on a bill was revealed to the respondents – £62 – a surprising number said they were prepared to pay more. While the average was nearly an extra £10, one in five said they’d be willing to contribute more than an extra £20.

But this willingness is conditional. In return bill payers want to see renewables investment go into reliable technologies that are affordable and offer value for money. The survey showed that 35% of Britons ranked value for money or affordability for customers highest out of a range of options the government should prioritise, including impact on the landscape, impact on the local economy and ability to safeguard jobs. Reliability of supply had the third highest level of support, with 15% ranking it in first place.

This research is published as the new Conservative government reaffirms its commitment to going green and tackling climate change, but is clearly emphasising this must be done in the most affordable way possible.

Drax Group CEO, Dorothy Thompson said:

“It’s clear a significant number of people are prepared to pay more to boost green energy in the fight to tackle climate change.
“However it’s also clear they are not prepared to write a ‘blank cheque’ and want guarantees that anything extra must be spent on green energy generation that is affordable and reliable.

“At Drax we’re leading Europe’s largest decarbonisation project and already meeting these ‘consumer asks’ as we take coal off the system and replace it with sustainable biomass that continues to provide a 24/7 source of electricity that doesn’t break the bank.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

DECC’s latest Bills & Prices report estimates that consumers pay an average £62 per year on their energy bills to support green energy:

https://www.gov.uk/policy-impacts-on-prices-and-bills

ComRes data are from two surveys, data for both were weighted to be representative of all GB adults aged 18+:

• ComRes interviewed 2,015 GB adults online between 17th and 18th June 2015.
• A further 2,052 GB adults were interviewed online by ComRes between 8th and 9th July 2015.
• ComRes is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules. Data tables are available on the ComRes website, www.comres.co.uk

Contacts:

Paul Hodgson
Head of Media Relations
+44 1757 612 026
+44 7525 590 271
[email protected]

Luther Pendragon
+44 (0) 20 7618 9137
[email protected]

A three year partnership between Lloyds Register Rail, UK manufacturer WH Davis and Drax has reached a significant milestone as Drax takes delivery of its 200th specially designed biomass rail freight wagon.

The partnership, which has pushed the boundaries of rail engineering and lead to the design and manufacturing of the largest ever rail freight wagons in the UK, has played a major role in ongoing developments in Drax’s supply chain as part of its conversion to burning sustainable biomass in place of coal – a process which has seen Drax transform from the UK’s largest emitter of CO2 to Europe’s largest decarbonisation project.

Since entering operations in 2013, the wagons, designed by Lloyd’s Register Rail and manufactured by WH Davis, have collectively travelled over 12 million miles between the Ports of Tyne, Hull and Immingham and Drax. Over the course of these journeys they have transported around 4.5 million tonnes of sustainable biomass – enough to power 2.5 million homes with low carbon, affordable and reliable renewable electricity. The wagons are 30 per cent larger than any other rail freight wagon currently used in the UK, and are able to carry a biomass load weighing 71.6 tonnes.

Peter Emery, Group Operations Director of Drax Group plc said: “This milestone demonstrates the sheer scale of our decarbonisation project as we replace coal with sustainable biomass providing a reliable and affordable source of electricity.

“Lloyds Register Rail and WH Davis have been important partners in the development of our biomass operations. The delivery of our 200th wagon marks a major stage in a process which has been a huge success both in terms of modifications to Drax’s supply chain and for UK engineering as a whole.”

Mark Jackson, Managing Director of W H Davis said: “We’re proud of what we’ve achieved for Drax, providing UK manufactured wagons which set the standard for wagon manufacture and enable Drax to receive volumes of biomass which would be impracticable by road.

“Our subsidiary, Davis Wagon Services, is supporting Drax with maintenance of the wagons and is working with Drax to establish a dedicated maintenance facility, ensuring maximum fleet availability.”

ENDS

Biomass Wagon – technical specification

1. Unique sole-bar design
2. Length over buffers 18.880m
3. Bogie centres 10.8m
4. Volume/Capacity 116m^3
5. Gauge W6a (W6b)
6. Tare weight 30t
7. Gross Laden Weight (GLW) 102t
8. Length of bottom doors 3724mm
9. Length of top doors 18.2m
10. Material 3CR12 stainless steel for main structure with under-frame in mild steel and aluminium roof doors / S355 at headstock and bolster areas
11. Door operation – fully automatic via lineside magnets (non-contact, zero power)
12. Product flow control – patented product control moveable surfaces
13. Unique discharge door design (to eliminate product spillage)

About Drax

Drax Group plc is an electrical power generation business made up of three main business units: Drax Power, Drax Biomass and Haven Power. Its principal business unit, Drax Power, is the UK’s largest power station based in Selby, North Yorkshire, and provides 7-8% of the UK’s electricity. Drax Power is also Europe’s largest decarbonisation project and the UK’s largest renewable electricity generator, achieved through an ongoing conversion to burning sustainable biomass in place of coal. Drax Biomass is the Group’s upstream subsidiary based in the US, focussed on manufacturing wood pellets for renewable low-carbon power generation from sustainable biomass. At the other end of the supply chain, Drax’s retail arm, Haven Power, serves the electricity needs of a growing number of business customers. Drax Group also owns Billington Bioenergy, one of the leading distributors of wood pellets for sustainable heating in the UK. The business employs around 1400 people.
For more information visit www.drax.com

About WH Davis

WH Davis was originally formed in 1910, initially as a repairer and later a manufacturer of wooden-bodied mineral wagons. Following just two changes of ownership in a hundred years, it is now the last independent British freight wagon manufacturer, with workshops located just off the M1 motorway near Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. In addition to freight wagons, WH Davis also designs and manufacturers all types of bespoke containers for industries as diverse as shipping, nuclear and off-shore oil.

Contacts:

Andrew Brown
Director of Communications
+44 (0) 1757 612 165
[email protected]

Luther Pendragon
+44 (0) 20 7618 9137
[email protected]

Drax Power has been awarded the maximum five stars in the British Safety Council’s Five Star Occupational Health and Safety Audit, and achieved a near perfect score. The audit, which was carried out by the British Safety Council, is a rigorous evaluation of the power station’s occupational health and safety management system, set against a worldwide benchmark.

Jon Clough, Head of Safety and Environment, Drax Power, explained what was involved:

“During the five day audit, auditors reviewed our safety management systems, interviewed colleagues and took a site tour and inspection to get a comprehensive picture of our health and safety culture.

“We were measured and scored against compliance with our policies and procedures and implementation in the work place. To achieve a five star award, it is necessary to score 92% or more. We scored 97.4%, highlighting how high our standards are, even against a global benchmark.

“This was our first audit, making the achievement all the more impressive.”
Andy Koss, Chief Executive for Drax Power said: “Safety is our number one priority – nothing is more important. Being awarded five stars is recognition that our standards and safety practices are among the very best. We can be proud of this achievement, but safety requires continuous vigilance and the commitment of everyone across the site.”

As five star winners, Drax Power will be eligible to apply for the coveted ‘Sword of Honour’ award which recognises the very best in health and safety management.

About Drax Group plc

Drax’s principal activities are electricity production, electricity sales to business customers, and processing sustainable biomass for use in electricity production. With carbon abatement central to the business strategy, the Group is transforming itself into a predominantly biomass-fuelled power provider through burning sustainable biomass in place of coal and providing the UK with cost effective, low carbon, and reliable renewable power.

The Group owns and operates the largest power station in the UK, typically responsible for supplying some 7-8% of the UK’s electricity. Upstream the Group has a presence in the US focused on developing wood pellet plants for the self-supply of some of its sustainable biomass requirements. At the other end of the supply chain, the Group’s retail arm, Haven Power, serves the electricity needs of a growing number of business customers.

For more information please contact:

Andrew Brown, Drax +44 (0) 1757 612165

Drax Power Limited (part of the Drax Group) is among the winners in the RoSPA Occupational Health and Safety Awards 2015. The Winner of the Electricity Industry Sector award in the prestigious annual scheme run by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) was presented during a ceremony at ExCeL London on June 16.

As the UK’s family safety charity, RoSPA’s mission to save lives and reduce injuries covers all ages and stages of life. In support of this mission, the RoSPA Awards, which date back 59 years, recognise commitment to continuous improvement in accident and ill health prevention at work. Through the scheme, which is open to businesses and organisations of all types and sizes from across the UK and overseas, judges consider entrants’ overarching occupational health and safety management systems, including practices such as leadership and workforce involvement.

David Rawlins, RoSPA’s Awards Manager, said: “The RoSPA Awards encourage improvement in occupational health and safety management. Organisations that gain recognition for their health and safety management systems such as Drax, contribute to raising standards overall and we congratulate them.”

Andy Koss, Chief Executive for Drax Power said:

“Receiving this award is recognition that our standards and safety practices are among the very best. Safety is our number one priority – nothing is more important. We can be proud of this achievement, but safety requires continuous vigilance and the commitment of everyone across the site.”

The majority of RoSPA’s awards are non-competitive, grading achievement at merit, bronze, silver and gold levels. Organisations that maintain high standards in consecutive years can win gold medals, president’s awards and orders of distinction.

Competitive awards are presented in more than 20 industry sectors, and they also recognise excellence in specialist areas, such as the management of occupational road risk (MORR).

The sponsors of the RoSPA Awards 2015 are: headline sponsor – NEBOSH; The RoSPA International Sector Award – airsweb; The MORR Trophy – Allianz; The International Dilmun Environmental Award – GPIC; The Best New Entry Trophy – Safety and Health Expo; The Workforce Involvement in Safety and Health Trophy – Springfields Fuels; and, The MORR Technology Trophy – Tesco Dotcom.

This year, RoSPA Occupational Health and Safety Awards ceremonies are being held in three locations: at ExCeL London on June 16 alongside the Safety and Health Expo 2015; in Birmingham on July 14 and 15  and in Glasgow on September 17, the day after the RoSPA Scotland Occupational Health and Safety Congress.

See www.rospa.com/awards/ for more information about the RoSPA Occupational Health and Safety Awards.

END

Notes

Drax’s principal activities are electricity production, electricity sales to business customers, and processing sustainable biomass for use in electricity production. With carbon abatement central to the business strategy, the Group is transforming itself into a predominantly biomass-fuelled power provider through burning sustainable biomass in place of coal and providing the UK with cost effective, low carbon, and reliable renewable power.

The Group owns and operates the largest power station in the UK, typically responsible for supplying some 7-8% of the UK’s electricity. Upstream the Group has a presence in the US focused on developing wood pellet plants for the self-supply of some of its sustainable biomass requirements. At the other end of the supply chain, the Group’s retail arm, Haven Power, serves the electricity needs of a growing number of business customers.

Energy will be generated from sustainable, affordable biomass. Haven Power, the specialist electricity supplier to UK businesses and part of Drax Group plc, has signed a deal with Thames Water to supply their electricity requirements in a deal worth more than £500m over five years. There is an option for two further five-year renewals which could increase the overall value of the contract to more than £1.5bn over 15 years.

Haven Power is the UK’s largest independent electricity supplier to businesses and sources its power from the Drax power plant in Selby, Yorkshire, which, as a result of its world leading biomass transformation, is now the UK’s single largest supplier of renewable energy. The deal will enable Thames Water, which already sources about 20% of its electricity through self-generated renewables such as solar, wind, hydro and biogas, to meet all of its electricity needs from renewables.

Drax Group Chief Executive, Dorothy Thompson, said:

“I’m delighted that Drax and Haven will play such an important part in helping to deliver Thames ‘renewable objectives.  As the UK looks to decarbonise in an affordable and pragmatic way, it is pioneering companies like Thames that are leading the way.”

Thames Water energy manager Angus Berry said:

“Our energy and carbon strategy centres around reducing costs for customers and minimising our impact on the environment. This deal with Haven puts downward pressure on bills and means we will now be using 100% renewable electricity. We look forward to growing our relationship with Haven to exploit further opportunities to minimise energy costs and emissions, as well as continuing to work towards our ambitious target of self-generating 30% of our own electricity by 2020.”

Drax is undergoing a major transformation programme to convert its 4GW power station – which supplies around 8% of the UK’s power – from coal to sustainable biomass. Two out of six units have now been converted and plans are advanced to modify a third unit to high-biomass later this year. The estimated 12 million tonnes of carbon saved once three units are fully converted is equivalent to taking 10% of the UK’s total vehicle fleet off the roads and makes Drax the single largest decarbonisation project currently underway in Europe.

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS

About Thames Water

 Thames Water, which serves London and the Thames Valley, is Britain’s biggest water and sewerage company.

Top-quality drinking water: We supply more than a tonne a week of water on average to each of our 9m drinking water customers. That’s 2,600m litres a day.

Recycling water back to the environment: We also recycle safely back to the environment 15m people’s wastewater. That’s 4,200m litres of sewage a day – 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Our region: Our service area stretches from eastern fringes of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire in the west, through to the western edges of Essex and Kent in the east.

For more information please visit https://www.thameswater.co.uk/

About Drax Group plc

Drax’s principal activities are electricity production, electricity sales to business customers, and processing sustainable biomass for use in electricity production. With carbon abatement central to the business strategy, the Group is transforming itself into a predominantly biomass-fuelled power provider through burning sustainable biomass in place of coal and providing the UK with cost effective, low carbon, and reliable renewable power.

The Group owns and operates the largest power station in the UK, typically responsible for supplying some 7-8% of the UK’s electricity. Upstream the Group has a presence in the US focused on developing wood pellet plants for the self-supply of some of its sustainable biomass requirements. At the other end of the supply chain, the Group’s retail arm, Haven Power, serves the electricity needs of a growing number of business customers.

For more information please contact:

 Stuart White, Thames Water

+44 (0) 203 577 4364. Or [email protected]

Andrew Brown, Drax

+44 (0) 7721513777 or [email protected]