Archives: Press Release

It was a night of sibling success at the Drax Power 2018 Apprenticeship Awards, with brothers James and Lewis Marran scooping three of the top five accolades at the ceremony.

James, aged 23, won 4^th Year Apprentice of the Year in his role as an Electrical Craftsperson Apprentice at Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire. Younger brother Lewis, 19, was awarded Business Apprentice of the Year for his work as a procurement and business support apprentice.

In addition to being crowned 4^th Year Apprentice of the Year, James also won the newly-created Paul Chambers Overall Outstanding Achievement Award.

The brothers from Doncaster both impressed the judges, who described Lewis as ‘a great role model for other Business Apprentices’ and James as ‘one of the most competent apprentices of recent times with the potential to develop into one of Drax’s best craftspeople’.

James said: “Completing my apprenticeship is one of my greatest achievements and be rewarded further as an outstanding apprentice was an even greater one.

“It was an honor to have worked alongside Paul Chambers and so I’m incredibly proud to receive the Paul Chambers Overall Outstanding Achievement Award”.

Lewis added: “Drax has offered me a brilliant grounding as an apprentice, allowing me to develop new skills and abilities which has led to a successful appointment within the Procurement team. To be the recipient of this award is most rewarding and I consider this as an excellent achievement, in what I hope is a long and prosperous career at Drax”.

The Year 2 Apprentice of the Year was 21-year-old Josh O’Rourke, 21, from Goole, who works as an Electrical Technical Apprentice. Judges described Josh as ‘mature, with a real focus and a drive to succeed.’

Year 3 winner, Daniel Riley, 19, also from Goole was praised for the ‘quality and accuracy of his work’ and his ‘positive response to instruction and quick learning’ in his position as a Mechanical Technical Apprentice.

The awards were presented to the winners by BBC Look North presenter Clare Frisby and Drax Power CEO Andy Koss, at a ceremony at Drax Sports and Social Club, near Selby.

Clare Frisby added: “It was a real pleasure to play a part in recognising the talent, skill and determination of all of the apprentices – it was a very inspiring event. Well done to everyone involved – but especially the winners, and James in particular.”

Andy Koss, Drax Power CEO, said: “James, Lewis, Daniel and Josh have all excelled – demonstrating enthusiasm, drive, positivity and professionalism in every aspect of their work as apprentices.

“Special congratulations go to James as the winner of the Paul Chambers Award – he has consistently received outstanding feedback about his work and I know he will go on to make a brilliant craftsperson.”

Drax will be offering apprenticeships over the course of the year in business support areas, such as finance and business administration. Technical Apprenticeship applications are closed for 2018. All opportunities are advertised online.

More information about apprenticeships at Drax is available on the website.

The plans would complement Drax’s existing coal-to-biomass conversion which has seen three units repowered to run on sustainable biomass pellets, with a fourth biomass conversion to follow this year.

If the Drax Repower plans go ahead in their entirety, the development would include two combined-cycle gas turbines (CCGTs) with a combined capacity of up to 3,600 megawatts (MW) of electricity as well as battery storage of up to 200MW.

Andy Koss, Drax power CEO said, “We were delighted to welcome Nigel Adams and Jake Berry to Drax. Our repowering project represents a really exciting time for us; the options we’re exploring could reuse some of the existing infrastructure from the remaining coal assets at Drax and extend their operation as gas plant into the 2030s.

“We hope the Repower project will secure the future of the power station beyond 2025 when the government says coal must come off the system. The North of England has a rich heritage in providing energy to the rest of the UK and Drax has an important role to play in delivering a low carbon economy as the UK comes off coal.”

Drax Power Station employs around 900 people and generated 16% of the country’s renewable electricity in 2016 – enough for four million households, the equivalent of Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield and Liverpool.

Jake Berry, Minister for the Northern Powerhouse and Local Growth, added, “Drax plays a hugely important role in the northern economy and it’s truly impressive how it has continued to innovate in recent years to move away from coal power. I enjoyed learning more about Drax’s gas conversion project and its wider plans to support Britain’s transition to a low carbon future based on an electric economy.”

Nigel Adams, Member of Parliament for Selby & Ainsty, said, “Thousands of jobs in Selby and across Yorkshire directly or indirectly rely on Drax Power Station. Drax’s proposal to convert its remaining coal units to gas to extend the life of the power station comes as welcome news at a time when other power stations in my constituency are closing their doors, with significant consequences for the employees working there.”

Drax Group contributed almost £1.7 billion towards UK GDP in 2016 and supported thousands of jobs across the country, including £577m across the North of England – Yorkshire and Humber, North West, and North East, termed as the ‘Northern Powerhouse Region’.

Andy Koss, Drax Power CEO, said:

“Re-opening the Skipton to Colne route to rail freight as well as passenger travel would have a significant impact for business across the North of England, slashing travel times and increasing productivity in the process.

“It will have a direct impact on improving our supply chain at Drax, allowing freight trains to travel much more quickly to the power station in North Yorkshire – reducing journey times from the Port of Liverpool to less than three hours, a journey which can take up to nine hours at the moment.

“As a nation we can benefit from a fast, efficient railway that allows more free movement of goods between manufacturers, their distribution hubs and their markets across the north of England and beyond.”

Andy Koss, Drax Power CEO said:

“Within the energy sector there are huge opportunities for the north through new energy technologies, such as bioenergy, offshore wind, and nuclear power. To take advantage of these opportunities we need a diverse, well-equipped future workforce with a high level of education and skills in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths subjects.

“At Drax we welcome around 13,000 visitors to the power station each year – many of whom are students, ranging from primary school-age to post-graduates. By bringing energy and engineering to life, we can inspire the next generation, but we also need to give these young people the right support to achieve their ambitions at school and help them get to the next step on their career path through our apprenticeship scheme.”

Read the report: Educating the North: driving ambition across the Powerhouse

Will Gardiner, Chief Executive of Drax Group, said:

“Biomass is playing a vital role in decarbonising our electricity system, providing sustainable, reliable low carbon power for millions of homes and businesses. We are pleased the EU Parliament has recognised the important part biomass plays and we look forward to the next stage of the legislative process and further progress on the introduction of robust, workable sustainability criteria.”