The series, titled 50 years of Drax Power Station, reflects on the power station’s achievements alongside Drax’s vision for the future, exploring energy security, jobs and skills, and decarbonisation.
Since Drax Power Station first began generating power in 1974, it has become a cornerstone of the UK’s energy infrastructure, now producing 9% of the nation’s renewable electricity – the largest single source of renewable power in the country. The documentary shows how Drax has kept the country’s lights on for half a century and continues to play a pivotal role in ensuring energy security for the UK.
As the UK’s largest power station, Drax Power Station has been a critical asset for national energy security and its sustainable biomass power generation provides a stable, flexible energy source for when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine.
“We’re proud to look back on the incredible journey of Drax Power Station over the last 50 years,” said Bruce Heppenstall, Drax Power Station’s Plant Director. “This documentary series showcases how we have evolved from a coal-fired plant to a world leader in renewable energy, while also preparing for the future of renewable energy generation with our innovative bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) technology. The short films provide a unique insight into our commitment to decarbonisation, our community engagement and the role we play in driving forward the UK’s net-zero ambitions.”
The power station has also provided significant economic benefits for communities across the north of England during its operational life. The documentary highlights the thousands of jobs created over the years, focusing on the plans for further job creation in the area. The deployment of BECCS technology at Drax could create up to 10,000 jobs during construction and support the development of a world-leading skills base in the Humber region, strengthening the local economy and ensuring a pipeline of talent for the future.
Drax is set to become one of the first power stations in the world to deploy BECCS technology, which has the potential to remove 8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere annually. This breakthrough innovation would make Drax a vital contributor to the UK’s decarbonisation goals, while continuing to provide clean electricity for millions of homes.
Watch episode 1 below or view the full series here.
ENDS
Media contacts:
Kieran Wilson
E: [email protected]
T: 07729092807
Editor notes
About Drax
Drax’s purpose is to enable a zero carbon, lower cost energy future. Our strategic aims are to be a global leader in both carbon removals and sustainable biomass pellet production, and to be a UK leader in dispatchable, renewable generation.
Our operations
Drax owns and operates a portfolio of flexible, low-carbon and renewable UK power assets – biomass, hydro, and pumped storage generation – which provide dispatchable power and system support services to the electricity grid.
We are the UK’s largest source of renewable power by output, and Drax Power Station is the UK’s largest single source of renewable electricity by output.
Through our pellet production facilities in North America, Drax is the world’s second largest producer of sustainable biomass. Drax has 18 operational and development pellet production sites which will have a nameplate capacity of around 5.4 million tonnes once expansions are complete.
Drax supplies renewable electricity to UK industrial and commercial customers, offering a range of energy-related services including energy optimisation, as well as electric vehicle strategy and management.
Our future
Drax is progressing options for carbon removals using bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) technology globally and at our UK biomass power station. We are progressing plans to develop 7 million tonnes of carbon removals through BECCS by 2030.
In 2024, we launched Elimini, a US-based company to lead our global efforts to deliver carbon removals at megaton scale. Elimini’s purpose is to remove carbon for good. To achieve this, it is convening engineers, environmentalists, communities, investors, and innovators to scale the market for carbon removals, with the aspiration of transforming our economies from carbon emitters to carbon removers. For more information, visit elimini.com.
