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Drax to boost skills and training with five-year Selby College partnership
The five-year partnership will enable the college to deliver community education programmes, as well as support for retraining, to ensure students are developing the skills needed in innovative clean technologies which will help to drive a zero carbon economy.
Upgrading Drax Power Station to use sustainable biomass instead of coal has transformed the business to become the largest decarbonisation project in Europe, protecting jobs and preserving the life of the power station.
Located just outside Selby in North Yorkshire, Drax is now the UK’s largest single site renewable power generator and pioneer of cutting edge negative emissions technology, Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) which could enable the company to go even further and become carbon negative as soon as 2030.
Bruce Heppenstall, Drax Power Station Plant Director, said:
“Through this partnership with Selby College we are looking beyond the Covid crisis towards a green economic recovery, powered by talented people and exciting, innovative technologies, like BECCS which Drax is pioneering.
“This partnership with Selby College will help people in our communities to learn the skills needed to pursue jobs in the green economy, and enable companies like Drax to continue to grow, and build a strong regional economy with thriving communities.”
Selby College been educating students in the heart of North Yorkshire for more than 35 years, providing education and training opportunities for more than 5,500 students, aged 16 right up to 70+.
Phil Sayles, Principal and Chief Executive of Selby College, said:
“We are delighted to be launching this partnership with Drax. Selby College is committed to supporting the community and has a strong track record of working with industries to understand their needs and develop tailored training packages to support workforce development. Creating education programmes that support upskilling and retraining are crucial for the UK as we look to the future, creating a green workforce that employers like Drax need.”
The package of support from Drax will see the college:
- Hold a series of events starting with a virtual conference on Green Energy in the spring, with high-profile key-note speakers, to help inspire students from local secondary schools to pursue careers in the sector
- Invest in ICT equipment to help even more students to study both in college and at home, making sure that no young person or adult learner is left behind if they need to self-isolate due to coronavirus.
- Purchase new science and engineering Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for students and support investment in state-of-the-art equipment over the next five years to support learning.
Nigel Adams MP, Member of Parliament for Selby and Ainsty, said:
“This is a perfect partnership, Drax at the forefront of developing and introducing new technologies for zero carbon energy generation and Selby College at the forefront of providing students with the knowledge and skills on which to build a successful career.
“I know both organisations very well and supported Drax in the conversion to green energy generation and must thank Selby College for their long-standing commitment to local employment including apprenticeship training and hosting my Jobs Fairs. This partnership will open up new opportunities for local people and enable them to develop the skills needed for our future. They will both continue to have my full support.”
Drax is working with a number of businesses on the Zero Carbon Humber initiative which aims to deploy carbon capture and hydrogen technology to decarbonise the UK’s largest industrial cluster by 2040.
Stephen Parnaby OBE, Chair of the Humber Local Enterprise Partnership, said:
“The Humber region is the most carbon intensive in the UK – using cutting edge technologies to decarbonise businesses here will make a significant contribution to the UK’s climate targets, whilst protecting 55,000 jobs.
“A skilled workforce is essential – the partnership between Drax and Selby College will play an important role in helping to create a cleaner environment for future generations whilst delivering new jobs and export opportunities for British businesses.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- Drax has a history of supporting education and skills in the communities local to its operations. Earlier this year it invested more than £750,000 in support for its customers and local communities during the Covid-19 crisis, including donating 853 laptops to 50 schools and colleges across the country, including 412 to 20 schools across Yorkshire, Humberside and Lincolnshire
- Prior to the covid crisis, around 12,000 people visited Drax for educational tours each year, many of whom were students, visiting as part of Drax’s efforts to work with schools and colleges to promote Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects
- To ensure school pupils didn’t miss out on these important tours and valuable experience of the world of work during the Covid-19 crisis, the company has created virtual tours for people to access online and has also teamed up with Oak National Academy to provide virtual work experience to students.
- In December last year Drax announced its world-leading ambition to use BECCS to permanently remove more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it produces right across its operations – creating a negative carbon footprint for the company by 2030 and making a significant contribution towards the UK’s net zero target.
- BECCS at Drax could underpin a Zero Carbon Humber whereby other industrial businesses in the region could tap into the same carbon transportation and storage infrastructure enabling the wider decarbonisation across the region.
- Selby College’s 5,500 students have access to courses ranging from entry level up to degree courses, including NVQ‘s in Engineering, Construction, Administration, Health and Social Care, and Hairdressing
Media contacts:
Ben Wicks
Drax Media Manager
E: [email protected]
T: 07761 525 662
Megan Hopgood
Drax Group Media Intern
E: [email protected]
T: 07867 536 335
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.
Its 2,900-strong employees operate across three principal areas of activity – electricity generation, electricity sales to business customers and compressed wood pellet production.
Power generation:
Drax owns and operates a portfolio of flexible, low carbon and renewable electricity generation assets across Britain. 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 two thirds of 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. It also owns and operates four gas power stations in England.
Customers:
Through its two B2B energy supply brands, Haven Power and Opus Energy, Drax supplies energy to 250,000 businesses across England, Scotland and Wales.
Pellet production:
Drax owns and operates three pellet mills in the US South which manufacture compressed wood pellets (biomass) produced from sustainably managed working forests. These pellet mills supply around 20% of the biomass used by Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses.
For more information visit www.drax.com/uk
About Selby College
Selby College is a highly rated College in the heart of North Yorkshire, providing education and training opportunities for students aged 16 right up to 70+. Learners from all over Yorkshire and the Humber travel to Selby College because of its reputation for high-quality education.
Providing a wealth of courses and clear progression routes, Selby College offers A Levels, Vocational courses, Apprenticeships, Higher Education, Adult Learning and Professional Courses for Employers.
Established in 1984, the College today employs more than 250 full-time teaching and support staff. Following a £35m investment in its state-of-the-art campus, Selby College boasts some of the most up-to-date facilities of any education provider in the area.
Selby College is also playing a leading role alongside other local institutions in the development of the Yorkshire & Humber Institute of Technology, which is one of twelve of its kind across the country designed to increase higher-level technical skills for employers. The College has also been selected by the Department of Education to deliver its brand-new T Level qualifications from September 2022, which are high-quality technical alternatives to A Levels.
For more information visit www.selby.ac.uk
Zero Carbon Humber Partnership submits £75 million bid to advance UK’s first net zero industrial cluster
Drax invests £6M in Galloway Hydro Scheme refurbishment
The Glenlochar Barrage, a 103-meter-long bridge that spans across the river Dee, controls the flow of water from Loch Ken to Tongland power station through its six sluice gates. Built in 1934, the barrage is a critical component of the scheme’s operations, which can produce enough renewable electricity to power 218,000 homes.
Ian Kinnaird, Drax’s Head of Hydro, said:
“The Galloway Hydro Scheme has been generating flexible, renewable electricity for almost a century, and this major refurbishment will ensure it continues to do so for many years to come.
“Scotland has a long and proud history of hydroelectricity, and with this project Drax is ensuring these power stations play an important part in securing a net zero carbon future for our country.”
Drax acquired the Galloway hydro scheme alongside the Lanark hydro scheme and the Cruachan pumped-hydro storage facility in Argyll in January 2019, helping to make the company a leading provider of flexible, low carbon and renewable power generation.
Over the next three years Drax will fully refurbish the barrage, alongside its project partners KGAL Consulting Engineers and AJT Engineering, to ensure the hydro scheme can continue to generate renewable electricity for many decades to come.
Construction of the Glenlochar Barrage
Andy Neill, AJT Engineering’s divisional manager, said:
“We are delighted to be able to support Drax on this major project with our extensive experience in this type refurbishment works, extending the life span of critical infrastructure for future generations.”
Nicholas Crosby, KGAL’s associate director, said: “A number of our engineers started their careers with the original supplier of the gates, so it’s appropriate that they now apply their skills to extending the life of this structure.”
Commissioned in the mid-1930s, the Galloway Hydro Scheme was the first large-scale integrated hydro-electric complex to be built in Britain and consists of six power stations, eight dams and a network of tunnels, aqueducts and pipelines. At its peak during construction, more than 1,500 people were employed on the project.
ENDS
Editor’s notes
Local people will be kept informed of the project by Drax and its contractors through community information sessions. As piece of key infrastructure, the barrage will remain operational throughout the refurbishment to manage water levels.
Media contacts:
Aidan Kerr
Media Manager (Generation)
E: [email protected]
T: 07849090368
Ali Lewis
Head of Media and PR
E: [email protected]
T: 07712 670888
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.
Its 2,900-strong employees operate across three principal areas of activity – electricity generation, electricity sales to business customers and compressed wood pellet production.
Power generation:
Drax owns and operates a portfolio of flexible, low carbon and renewable electricity generation assets across Britain. 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 two thirds of 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. It also owns and operates four gas power stations in England.
Customers:
Through its two B2B energy supply brands, Haven Power and Opus Energy, Drax supplies energy to 250,000 businesses across England, Scotland and Wales.
Pellet production:
Drax owns and operates three pellet mills in the US South which manufacture compressed wood pellets (biomass) produced from sustainably managed working forests. These pellet mills supply around 20% of the biomass used by Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses.
For more information visit www.drax.com/uk
BECCS is ‘most mature’ of all carbon removal technologies, says IEA’s carbon capture report
“The IEA’s report today further reinforces the growing consensus from a number of independent advisory bodies and experts that bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), which Drax is pioneering, is urgently needed to help the UK and other countries decarbonise and achieve global climate ambitions.”
Drax Group CEO Will Gardiner in the control room at Drax Power Station [Click to view/download]
“As the IEA said in its report, BECCS is the most mature of all the carbon removal technologies.
“It’s also the cheapest and – uniquely – generates renewable power. Scaling up BECCS at Drax can support decarbonisation of Britain’s most carbon-intensive industrial region, safeguarding thousands of jobs and driving clean growth after Covid. It also gives the UK the opportunity to lead in a vital negative emissions technology that will be needed globally to combat the climate emergency.”
Drax supports post-Covid recovery with new Scottish apprentices
Energy company Drax is kickstarting careers in engineering by extending its apprenticeship scheme across Scotland.
Drax has appointed the new apprentices as part of its commitment to STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) education, ensuring its workforce in Scotland has the skills needed to support a post-covid economic recovery.
Nathan Harbinson, Lanark apprentice
Mike Maudsley, Drax Group’s UK Portfolio Generation Director, said:
“Meeting our apprentices is one of the highlights of my job – these are the young people with the enthusiasm and raw talent to deliver the cutting-edge technologies of the future.
“Through these apprenticeships we aim to nurture that talent so they develop valuable skills – we want to have a workforce with the expertise that Drax, and Scotland, needs to thrive, especially as we recover from the Covid-crisis.”
Ross Davie – Daldowie apprentice
The budding engineers will join Drax at its Cruachan pumped storage hydro power station, in Argyll and Bute, Galloway hydro power scheme, Lanark hydro power scheme and the Daldowie energy from waste plant, near Glasgow.
Ross Davie, aged 18, who has joined Drax’s Daldowie fuel from waste plant as a technical apprentice, said: “It has been a very uncertain time for young people like me looking to start their careers over the last few months, because of Covid. To not only secure an engineering apprenticeship, but one based at Drax’s Daldowie plant, is incredibly exciting.”
This is the second time Drax has invested in apprenticeships at its Scottish sites since it acquired them as part of a wider portfolio of flexible, low carbon and renewable assets at the start of last year. The continued investment in young people has been welcomed by the Scottish Government.
Jamie Hepburn, Skills Minister, said:
“As we recover from the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic it is vital that we continue to develop Scotland’s young workforce to equip people with the skills they need to succeed while meeting the emerging needs and opportunities of our employers and economy.
“Apprenticeships are not only valuable for our young people, they are a fantastic way for all employers to invest in their workforce and provide the skills the economy needs now and in the future.
“I am delighted that Drax continues to nurture new talent by appointing apprentices as part of its commitment to STEM skills and training. I would also like to take this opportunity to wish all those starting out in a new career the very best.”
Drax’s technical apprenticeship scheme gives new recruits the opportunity to gain skills and expertise by working alongside highly qualified engineers. It is a four-year programme, and specialises in three engineering disciplines: Mechanical, Electrical and Control & Instrumentation.
This year’s apprentices at Drax’s Scottish sites are all aged 18 and live locally. They will start work at the Drax sites once they have completed formal training at East Kilbride Group Training Association (EKGTA).
ENDS
Media contacts:
Aidan Kerr
Drax Group Media Manager
E: [email protected]
T: 07849090368
Ali Lewis
Drax Group Head of Media & PR
E: [email protected]
T: 07712670888
Editor’s Notes
This year’s apprentices at Drax’s Scottish operations are:
- Ross Davie (18) who will be working at Daldowie energy from waste plant, near Glasgow
- Paul Firth (18) who will be working at Daldowie energy from waste plant, near Glasgow
- Ross McCaskill (18) who will be working at Cruachan pumped hydro power station, Argyll and Bute
- Aaron Broatch (18) who will be working at Galloway hydro power scheme
- Nathan Harbinson (18) who will be working at Lanark hydro power scheme.
Drax has been running an apprenticeship scheme for almost two decades at its eponymous power station in North Yorkshire.
During the Covid pandemic Drax has invested in young people and supported the communities it operates in through a number of different initiatives, including:
- The company provided a Covid support package worth £636,000 to provide laptops with internet access for school pupils unable to learn from home, supported care homes by offering free energy during the crisis and backed a business debtline to offer support for small businesses.
- Free virtual tours of Drax’s power stations have also been created as an additional educational resource to help schools and parents during the lockdown.
- Virtual work experience has also been on offer.
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.
Its 2,900-strong employees operate across three principal areas of activity – electricity generation, electricity sales to business customers and compressed wood pellet production.
Power generation:
Drax owns and operates a portfolio of flexible, low carbon and renewable electricity generation assets across Britain. 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 two thirds of 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. It also owns and operates four gas power stations in England.
Customers:
Through its two B2B energy supply brands, Haven Power and Opus Energy, Drax supplies energy to 250,000 businesses across England, Scotland and Wales.
Pellet production:
Drax owns and operates three pellet mills in the US South which manufacture compressed wood pellets (biomass) produced from sustainably managed working forests. These pellet mills supply around 20% of the biomass used by Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses.
For more information visit www.drax.com/uk
Will Gardiner comments on joining Energy Leaders’ Coalition
“Women hold around a fifth of senior roles at Drax – more than the global average for energy companies – but we can do much better and I am committed to make that happen, because it’s the right thing to do and diverse and inclusive businesses are more successful. We aim to progress women and people from diverse backgrounds throughout all levels of our business and are taking steps to achieve that from even the earliest stages of career development by working with schools, colleges and universities. Joining the Energy Leaders’ Coalition gives us a helpful forum to learn what works and what doesn’t so we can ensure that we continue to drive meaningful change across a sector that has historically faced a long-standing gender and diversity imbalance.”
COVID lockdown made Britain’s electricity system cleaner and cheaper, but harder to control
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Latest Drax Electric insights report shows renewables up 32% year-on-year as biomass, wind and solar set new generation records in Q2 2020.
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Cleanest ever quarter as carbon emissions fall by a third compared to the same period last year, and the carbon intensity of electricity fell to an all-time low of 21 g/kWh on the Spring Bank Holiday.
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Wholesale power prices down 42% from same quarter last year as demand plummets during lockdown.
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Cost to balance the grid rises to over £100 million per month as pumped hydro storage and CCGTs called on to manage low demand and high generation from wind and solar sources.
As businesses shut up shop and millions of people were furloughed or working from home during the second quarter of 2020, independent analysis, conducted via Imperial Consultants, by academics from Imperial College London for Drax Electric Insights shows the impact this had on our electricity system.
Lower electricity demand combined with exceptional weather propelled renewables to their greatest ever share of electricity, forcing prices and carbon emissions down to record levels, as well as reducing the need for nuclear and fossil fuel power. At one point renewable electricity sources were providing almost 70% (69.5%) of Britain’s electricity.
The report also highlights how this combination of reduced demand and increased renewable generation meant a record amount of money was spent on keeping the system stable between April and June.
The quarterly-average cost of balancing the power system, expressed as a percentage of the cost of generation [click to view/download]
Dr Iain Staffell of Imperial College London, and lead author of the quarterly Electric Insights reports, said:
“The past few months have given the country a glimpse into the future for our power system, with higher levels of renewable energy and lower demand make for a difficult balancing act. To help the country decarbonise further it is vital that flexible technologies which provide power and system stability play an increasing role in our grid.”
Alongside keeping power supply and demand perfectly in balance, National Grid ESO must also stabilise the system. It does this by ensuring there is not just the right amount of megawatts available to meet demand – but also the right kind of MWs.
During Q2 wind and solar power provided a lot of the electricity required by the grid, which helped the carbon intensity fall to 153 g/kWh averaged over the quarter – its lowest on record. However, these technologies are unable to provide all the services needed to stabilise the system, such as inertia, which is essential for maintaining the grid’s frequency at 50Hz and preventing power cuts.
Whilst wholesale prices fell 42% as a result of falling demand during the period, balancing prices rose from being just 5% of wholesale prices typically over the last decade to 20%, with the cost of the actions taken to stabilise the system averaging £100 million per month during the first half of this year.
Mike Maudsley, Drax Group’s UK Portfolio Generation Director
Mike Maudsley, Drax Group’s UK Portfolio Generation Director, said:
“It has been a challenging time for everyone in the country and for our power system. The last few months have underlined the importance of flexible, low carbon technologies to enable the UK’s power system to evolve and provide the secure and sustainable electricity supplies a zero carbon economy needs.”
ENDS
Top image caption: sourced from Adobe Stock. Branksome Chine Beach, Poole, Dorset, UK during COVID-19 – 1st April 2020.
Editor’s notes
Electric Insights Q2 2020 report [click to view/download]
- Electricity output from wind, solar and biomass were each up more than 10% on this quarter last year.
- May was Britain’s first coal-free calendar month since the Industrial Revolution as the country went an unprecedented 67 days without the fuel on the grid.
- Demand fell to its lowest levels this century, falling below 17 GW on the 28th of June.
- The country’s four pumped hydro storage power stations supplied a record 7.9% of power at one stage during the quarter as they helped to balance the system and keep it stable.
For more information visit electricinsights.co.uk or download the full report.
Media contacts:
Aidan Kerr
Drax Group Media Manager
E: [email protected]
T: 07849 090 368
Selina Williams
Drax Group Media Manager
E: [email protected]
T: 07912230393
About Electric Insights
- Electric Insights is commissioned by Drax and delivered by a team of independent academics from Imperial College London, facilitated by the college’s consultancy company – Imperial Consultants. The quarterly report analyses raw data made publicly available by National Grid and Elexon, which run the electricity and balancing market respectively, and Sheffield Solar.
- Electric Insights Quarterly focuses on supply and demand, prices, emissions, the performance of the various generation technologies and the network that connects them.
- The quarterly reports are backed by an interactive website electricinsights.co.uk which provides data from 2009 until the present.
Uniquely, Electric Insights provides real time data about the UK’s transmission grid as well as embedded wind and solar generation which is not available from other sources
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.
Its 2,900-strong employees operate across three principal areas of activity – electricity generation, electricity sales to business customers and compressed wood pellet production.
Power generation:
Drax owns and operates a portfolio of flexible, low carbon and renewable electricity generation assets across Britain. 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 two thirds of 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. It also owns and operates four gas power stations in England.
Customers:
Through its two B2B energy supply brands, Haven Power and Opus Energy, Drax supplies energy to 250,000 businesses across England, Scotland and Wales.
Pellet production:
Drax owns and operates three pellet mills in the US South which manufacture compressed wood pellets (biomass) produced from sustainably managed working forests. These pellet mills supply around 20% of the biomass used by Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses.
For more information visit www.drax.com/uk
Will Gardiner responds to BECCS report for BEIS by Ricardo AEA
“This report provides further confirmation that the UK’s target of being net zero by 2050 is only achievable with negative emissions delivered by bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) – a technology which Drax is pioneering and with the right policy and investment framework from government, could develop at scale in the 2020s.
“Developing BECCS will not only deliver for the climate but also for the economy, powering a post-Covid green recovery – whilst positioning the UK as a world-leader in a ground-breaking new technology.
“It is the most cost-effective negative emissions technology available and uniquely it also produces flexible, renewable electricity – demand for which will grow as the economy decarbonises further.”
View the report: ‘Analysing the potential of bioenergy with carbon capture in the UK to 2050’
Read by why experts think BECCS will be an essential part of the energy system
