Speaking at the British Chamber of Commerce Annual Conference in London on Thursday March 5, 2020, Clare Harbord Drax Group Director of Corporate Affairs said:
“By investing in the skills and new technologies needed to get the country to net zero, businesses can be world leading, creating new opportunities to develop and grow.”
Drax has announced a world-leading ambition to be carbon negative by 2030 by pioneering bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) – a ground-breaking negative emissions technology which is essential if the UK is to meet its climate targets.
It is also spearheading a zero-carbon skills taskforce in the North, aimed at ensuring the region has a workforce which is ready to reap the rewards of a net zero economy.
Giving the keynote address at the British Chamber of Commerce Annual Conference in London, Clare Harbord said:
“Despite all of the challenges we face – this is a year of great opportunity for British business to take a world leading role in tackling the climate crisis.”
She added: “We can seize the opportunities of infrastructure and new technology and investment that will put our country and our businesses at the heart of a global green economy.”
Through the Zero Carbon Humber initiative, being delivered in partnership with National Grid Ventures and Equinor, Drax aims to establish the world’s first net zero industrial cluster by 2040.
The Humber is the UK’s biggest industrial region employing 55,000 people in energy, manufacturing and engineering and as the most carbon intensive region in the country – taking steps to decarbonise the area would make a more significant impact on addressing the climate crisis than anywhere else in the UK.
“Our vision is to put the Humber back on the global stage as an example to the rest of the world of climate leadership in action, creating green jobs and clean growth,” she said.
“As the world’s attention turns to Glasgow and the COP26 conference this Autumn, there is no better time for government to show its support for British businesses and the British technology that is leading this fight.”
Read the full speech here.
-ENDS-
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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.
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.
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:
Drax owns two B2B energy supply businesses:
- Haven Power, based in Ipswich, supplies electricity and energy services to large Industrial and Commercial sector businesses.
- Opus Energy, based in Oxford, Northampton and Cardiff, provides electricity, energy services and gas to small and medium sized (SME) businesses.
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
