Drax Power Station, which is located near Selby in North Yorkshire, will project a poppy onto one of its 114-metre-tall cooling towers in a unique act of remembrance. The projection will be illuminated onto the site on Armistice Day (November 11) and Remembrance Sunday (November 12) between 6pm and midnight.
This year marks the fourth time that Drax has paid tribute in this manner. Members of the public can safely view the display from the Drax Sports and Social Club parking area, which is situated opposite the power station.
Bruce Heppenstall, Plant Director at Drax, said: “Drax has supported the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal for many years, and this projection is a heartfelt tribute to the enduring sacrifices made by generations of armed forces personnel.
“We have many veterans working at Drax, and I know this weekend is a particularly poignant one for them. This is not only a moment to remember those sadly no longer with us, but also an opportunity to help those who have served in the armed forces and are transitioning to civilian life today. That is why we are so proud to support the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal as all the money raised goes to providing financial, social, and emotional support to veterans and their families.”
One of the veterans who now work at the power station is Holly Clough, who served for over four years in the Royal Air Force as a driver and three years as a civilian with the NAAFI. Her roles in the RAF included helping to transport the iconic Vulcan bomber aircraft.
Holly, and a dedicated team of around 50 veterans at Drax Power Station, help organise the plant’s annual Poppy Appeal. She said: “The work that the Royal British Legion does is essential in helping smooth the difficult transition to civilian life for veterans.
“It is wonderful that Drax is again supporting the annual Poppy Appeal and I know that the money raised will go a long way for veterans and their families.”
ENDS
Photo caption: L-R: Louie Munton, Andy Green (from Quirk), Gavin Kirk, Peter Beverley, Holly Clough, Christian Reeve, Bruce Heppenstall (Drax Power Station Plant Director), Dan Tyler, Gordon Banks, James Turner, Steve Chamberlain, Jenny Twentyman, Richard Hudson.
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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, using bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) technology.
Drax’s around 3,000 employees operate across three principal areas of activity – electricity generation, electricity sales to business customers and compressed wood pellet production and supply to third parties. For more information visit www.drax.com
Power generation:
Drax owns and operates a portfolio of renewable electricity generation assets in England and Scotland. The assets include the UK’s largest power station, based at Selby, North Yorkshire, which supplies five percent of the country’s electricity needs.
Having converted Drax Power Station to use sustainable biomass instead of coal it has become the UK’s biggest renewable power generator and the largest decarbonisation project in Europe. It is also where Drax is piloting the groundbreaking negative emissions technology BECCS within its CCUS (Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage) Incubation Area.
Its pumped storage, hydro and energy from waste assets in Scotland include Cruachan Power Station – a flexible pumped storage facility within the hollowed-out mountain Ben Cruachan.
The Group also aims to build on its BECCS innovation at Drax Power Station with a target to deliver 4 million tonnes of negative CO2 emissions each year from new-build BECCS outside of the UK by 2030 and is currently developing models for North American and European markets.
Pellet production and supply:
The Group has 18 operational pellet plants and developments with nameplate production capacity of around 5 million tonnes a year.
Drax is targeting 8 million tonnes of production capacity by 2030, which will require the development of over 3 million tonnes of new biomass pellet production capacity. The pellets are produced using materials sourced from sustainably managed working forests and are supplied to third party customers in Europe and Asia for the generation of renewable power.
Drax’s pellet plants supply biomass used at its own power station in North Yorkshire, England to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses, and also to customers in Europe and Asia.
Customers:
Drax supplies renewable electricity to UK businesses, offering a range of energy-related services including energy optimisation, as well as electric vehicle strategy and management.
To find out more go to the website www.energy.drax.com
