Renewable energy company Drax, which owns Cruachan Power Station, has donated £2,500 to The Rockfield Centre in Oban to help fund a new community canteen.
Drax’s Charity Committee has a dedicated fund for supporting good causes local to its operations in Scotland, which include Cruachan Power Station, Daldowie Fuel Plant and the Lanark and Galloway Hydro Schemes.
The Rockfield Centre is a community owned and run cultural hub in the town of Oban, which delivers activities for people of all ages, including art workshops, knitting groups and volunteering opportunities.
The donation from Drax will go towards opening a new community canteen within The Rockfield Centre known as the Rowan Canteen, which will be the social hub of the centre and a place for people to meet with friends and get involved with activities the centre has to offer.
The Rockfield Centre is also working with Argyll College, Oban High School and other local schools to provide employment and training opportunities for young people who experience challenges accessing the work environment. The Rowan Canteen will be a supportive environment where individuals can improve their confidence and gain new skills.
The Rockfield Centre Manager, Carol Devine, said:
“The Rowan Canteen will be an inclusive space for individuals to feel comfortable, socialise, learn new skills and be active members of the community. We are grateful to Drax for their help in providing this social space that our community have told us they would benefit from, and which is even more important following the isolation people have experienced during the lockdowns of the last two years.”
Cruachan Visitor Centre Manager Sarah Cameron and Rockfield Centre Manager Carol Devine
Sarah Cameron, Cruachan Visitor Centre Manager, said:
“We are proud to support The Rockfield Centre in this initiative, which is a really positive development for the local community and will help support education and skills. We hope members of the community will come together to enjoy the new space and benefit from the opportunities it provides.”
Drax is committed to supporting the communities local to its operations in Scotland through a variety of measures including educational programs and supporting local charities.
ENDS
Media contacts:
Megan Hopgood
Communications Officer
E: [email protected]
T: 07936 350 175
Editor’s Notes
Charities and community organisations local to Drax’s operations which support STEM and education outreach, skills and employability, or which work to improve local communities, can apply for grants of up to £500 per year from Drax.
To request an application form, email [email protected] or fill out an enquiry form on the Drax website.
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 17 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
