- Schoolchildren are being invited by Drax to submit their designs for a poster that visualises the energy industry workers of the 21st century
- Winners will see their designs showcased at the power station’s history display, as part of its golden anniversary celebrations.
Renewable energy pioneer, Drax, is offering schoolchildren in communities local to Drax Power Station the exciting opportunity to design a poster that visualises the ‘energy employee of the future’.
The competition is part of Drax Power Station’s golden anniversary, marking 50 years since it started generating power in 1974, celebrating the generations of employees who have worked there since then, as well as the energy pioneers of the future.
The design competition gives students the chance to create a poster with a 21st-century twist, by looking to the future of renewable power generation, taking inspiration from Drax Power Station’s own evolution.
Shona King, Head of Community at Drax said: “Young people will play an essential role in the energy system of the future as the UK continues on its energy transition journey. It is vital that we encourage conversations around careers in the energy sector and help school-aged children to foster an understanding of the diverse and evolving opportunities for careers in STEM roles, so that they have the skills to play their part in a decarbonised future.
“This competition to design a modern labour poster will also pay tribute to the generations of employees at Drax Power Station, who have kept the lights on for millions of homes and businesses across the UK, for half a century – whilst celebrating the exciting career opportunities which will be created in the next 50 years.”
Drax has been a leader in the field of bioenergy since converting the power station to use sustainable biomass instead of coal, transforming it to become the biggest decarbonisation project in Europe.
It now has ambitious plans to develop bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) at the site – a vital carbon removal technology, which will be essential in the energy transition and enabling the UK to meet its net zero targets.
Winners will see their designs displayed in the power stations’ dedicated history area at reception, which will also feature a collage of all entries in the shape of the Drax Power Station.
They will also receive a Lego replica of Drax Power Station and a framed print of their design, with copies displayed inside the power station. Alongside the competition, local schools will receive a grant of up to £2,000 towards STEM resources.
The graphic design competition will be open to three age group categories:
- Category 1, 7-11 years old
- Category 2, 11- 15 years old
- Category 3, 16 – 18 years old
Entries for the competition are now open with winners selected by December 16th. More information can be found here.
ENDS
Media contacts:
Kieran Wilson
E: [email protected]
T: 07729092807
Editor notes
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 19 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
