- First round of funding from the Drax Community Fund will see donations given to 33 organisations across the UK.
- This includes donations to six organisations in the Argyll and Bute and Glasgow areas, which deliver STEM education, skills development and local Council services.
Renewable energy leader, Drax Group has announced the support it will provide to community organisations local to its operations though its new Community Fund, launched in 2023.
The donations of £500 to £2,000 are for community-led projects which support STEM education and skills, enhance green spaces or improve communities local to its operations.
It has announced funding to five organisations in Argyll and Bute where Drax owns and operates Cruachan Power Station – a flexible pumped storage hydro facility within the hollowed-out mountain Ben Cruachan. Drax announced last year plans to build a new c.£500m underground pumped storage hydro plant at the site, that with the right support from the UK Government would create 1,000 jobs during construction. Additionally, Drax has donated to The Catherine McEwan Foundation in Glasgow, which helps people living with Crohn’s and Colitis access better treatment.
Ian Kinnaird, Director of Scottish Assets, Drax Group, said:
“Since the acquisition of Cruachan by Drax in 2019, our business has supported a range of initiatives and created apprenticeship opportunities for the local area. Linking us even closer with the communities we operate in and that many of our colleagues live within.
“Our new Community Fund has provided support to local primary schools, Oban Community Council and The Catherine McEwan Foundation. These donations will provide pupils with the latest technology, help with refurbishing buildings and contribute to school trips, all furthering our commitment to advancing STEM education in our local areas.”
The projects in Cruachan and Glasgow that will receive donations worth a total of £9,050, from Drax Community Fund, include:
- The Catherine McEwan Foundation: Expanding opportunities for young people in the senior phase of secondary school living with Crohn’s disease or Colitis.
- Lochnell Primary School: Purchasing DASH Robot, STEM equipment and additional ipads.
- Oban Community Council: Funding local planning efforts around community engagement activities.
- Home-Start Lorn: Helping to refurbish buildings and creating a family centre in Oban.
- Oban High School: Funding a school rugby trip for the girls team to France.
Derek McEwan, Founder, The Catherine McEwan Foundation, said: “The Catherine McEwan Foundation is delighted to receive this support from Drax. Our scholarship is a unique initiative with incredible positive outcomes. To have this support means we can continue to support the education of young people living with Crohn’s & Colitis.”
Murray Hamilton, Principal Teacher of PE and HWB, Oban High School, commented: “We were delighted when we heard the support from Drax, it is a major boost to the girls’ fundraising. This is the first trip of its kind for a girls’ sports team at Oban High School; we are really proud of our girls and can’t wait to go to France and provide them with this opportunity. The support from Drax will help make it a truly memorable experience.”
Emma Rossiter, Primary 7 Principal Teacher, Lochnell Primary School, said: “The funding from Drax is game changing for us at Lochnell Primary School. We have been developing STEM opportunities within our curriculum. The Lego Spike Kits and iPads allow us to explore and develop our engineering and coding skills along with critical problem-solving skills and teamwork. Thank you Drax for making this possible.”
To find out more about the Drax Community Fund and how to apply for funding, go to the website.
Notes to editors:
Drax Foundation, launched last March and awards larger grants of up to £50,000 for established, non-project organisations.
Drax recently announced the Community Foundation has given £2.7m in charitable giving for regional programmes and grassroots projects globally, of which £1.3 million went to UK projects.
ENDS
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About Drax
Drax Group’s (Drax) 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 c.3,500 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 four 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. It is also where Drax is piloting the 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
