Archives: Press Release

Drax welcomes CCC’s call for faster progress in delivering UK carbon removals and confirms decommissioning of coal units will continue

28 June 2023

News
  • Drax welcomes Climate Change Committee report which argues for greater pace from the UK Government on delivering Net Zero targets and more progress on delivering carbon removals technology.
  • The company has also confirmed that the decommissioning of its coal units at Drax Power Station (DPS) will continue and they will not be available this winter.

Drax Group (Drax), the renewable energy business, today welcomes the Climate Change Committee’s (CCC) report, Progress in Reducing UK Emissions – 2023, and its recommendation that if Government wants to deliver on its climate targets it must deliver specific policy which supports the development of carbon removals projects in this country.

In 2022, Drax provided around 11% of the UK’s renewable energy and it plays a vital role in maintaining the country’s energy security.

Drax’s ambition is to invest billions in carbon removal projects in the UK and the US through game-changing technology – bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS).

Drax Group CEO, Will Gardiner, said:

“The CCC’s report is welcome as it is a holistic view of the scale of the challenge facing us all in reaching Net Zero, as well as acknowledging the vital role that carbon removals technologies like BECCS will play in getting us there. We support its recommendation that faster progress is needed to reach the UK’s ambitious carbon removals targets.

“With the right support from the UK Government, we plan to invest billions into delivering BECCS at our power station in Yorkshire. Our formal discussions with the UK Government on BECCS deployment and parallel discussions about a ‘bridging mechanism’ to support the transition to BECCS have been productive and we are looking forward to continuing these in the coming months.

“We also await the publication of the UK Government’s biomass strategy, which we hope will reinforce the critical role that BECCS will play in energy security and decarbonisation, as well as timelines for the deployment of initial BECCS projects in the UK.”

The company has also confirmed today that the decommissioning of its two remaining coal units at Drax Power Station will continue and that they will not be available to generate power this winter.

This confirmation follows a recent request by National Grid ESO to explore the possibility of extending coal generation at Drax Power Station but concluded that due to a combination of technical, maintenance and staffing reasons, the extension of coal over this winter was not possible.

The company first announced in April this year that after almost 50 years of coal power generation at Drax Power Station, its coal units would close.

ENDS                                                 

Media contacts:

Chris Mostyn
Head of Media Relations
E: [email protected]
T: 07548 838 896

Andy Low
Media Manager
E: [email protected]
T: 07841 068 415

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 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

 

 

 

Drax donates £50k to support STEM education and community initiatives in Scotland

21 June 2023

News

The Foundation supports education and skills development for non-profit organisations and social enterprises in the regions where it operates and runs two grant cycles a year. Today’s announcement is part of a total of £323,000 that makes up the first round of grants that have been awarded across the UK, US and Canada since the Foundation was launched in March 2023.    

Shona King, Drax Head of Community, said: “We are passionate about giving back to the communities we operate in and earlier this year we launched the Drax Foundation as part of an exciting new chapter in how we deliver positive social impact. We are pleased to announce that nearly 45% of our initial £323,000 grant awards will support six STEM projects in the UK, more than 15% of which will support programmes here in Scotland.”  

Of the total, £50,000 has been awarded to two different projects in Scotland; 

Julie Young from the Argyll and the Isles Coast Countryside Trust (ACT) said: “We believe that learning outdoors is extremely beneficial to young children and nurtures their innate curiosity and tendencies to want to explore. The Drax Foundation have given us support this year of £25,000, which means that we can extend our STEM outdoor learning sessions to a wider age range and number of young learners. We are really grateful for the support.” 

Frances Coombey, from the Kirkcudbright Dark Space Planetarium, said: “Our charity’s purpose is to promote awareness and understanding of science, technology and space exploration in a way that is interactive, inclusive, and fun. The funding from the Drax Foundation will allow us to implement our STEM Learning Programme to provide exciting, high quality learning opportunities for young people living in rural South West Scotland through school visits, researcher sessions and a paid summer internship.” 

Drax Foundation funds initiatives that support education and skills development in Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM), as well as those that improve green spaces and enhance biodiversity within local communities. Funding is available for organisations ranging from smaller community-led projects to larger grants of £50,000 for established non-profit organizations.  

Priority is given to organisations that deliver programmes for under-served and under-represented groups, advance gender equality and support indigenous communities.  

Organisations and initiatives that meet Drax’s funding and selection criteria are encouraged to visit www.drax.com/community  to learn more about the Foundation and submit an initial expression of interest.  

The Drax Foundation is a donor advised fund administered by the Charities Trust (an independently registered charity with the UK Charity Commission, charity no. 327489) 

ENDS 

Pic caption 1: Kirkcudbright Dark Space Planetarium offers fun and interactive STEM activities for young people 

Pic caption 1: Children taking part in an ACT outdoor learning session 

Media contacts: 

Megan Hopgood   
Communications Officer
E: [email protected]
T: 07936 350 175

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 19 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 energy.drax.com  

About Kirkcudbright Dark Space Planetarium 

Kirkcudbright Dark Space Planetarium is an educational facility which opened to the public in July 2021.  

It was developed to build on the regions dark sky accolade by providing a complementary visitor attraction that can be visited come rain or shine.  

The space centre and planetarium are housed within a former primary school, dating from Victorian times, that has been transformed by the community group, Kirkcudbright Development Trust.  

Our educational exhibition area focusses on three themes – enjoying space, exploring space, and understanding space. For each of these themes we have several interactive exhibits including a planisphere, binoculars, robotic space rock grabber, rocket launchers, gravity well and infrared camera.  

Beneath our 360-planetarium dome, we deliver live shows in which the audience learn about our beautiful dark skies and do some constellation hopping, after which we fly through the solar system exploring other planets and moons. 

We also screen educational films on the dome; these cover topics such as observing the space exploration, climate change, star formation and the search for life beyond Earth.  

Drax Foundation donates £90k to support STEM education and community initiatives in Yorkshire and the Humber

News

The Foundation supports education and skills development for non-profit organisations and social enterprises in the regions where it operates and runs two grant cycles a year. Today’s announcement is part of a total of £323,000 that makes up the first round of grants that have been awarded across the UK, US and Canada since the Foundation was launched in March 2023.    

Shona King, Drax Head of Community, said: “We are passionate about giving back to the communities we operate in and earlier this year we launched the Drax Foundation as part of an exciting new chapter in how we deliver positive social impact. We are pleased to announce that nearly 45% of our initial £323,000 grant awards will support six STEM projects in the UK, half of which will support programmes here in Yorkshire.”  

Of the total, almost £90,000 has been split between three different organisations in Yorkshire and the Humber;  

  • NYBEP (North Yorkshire Business and Education Partnership) who work with schools and businesses to develop STEM programmes 
  • Don Catchment Rivers Trust which offers Community-led conservation and nature-based STEM education for children 
  • Toranj Tuition, a Hull-based organisation established to stimulate social mobility and to facilitate equal opportunities for adults and children through our educational programmes. 

Pedram Saeid from Toranj Tuition said: “We provide science workshops and STEM mentoring sessions for children from minority ethnic communities or low-income British households. Funding from the Drax Foundation will enable us to continue and expand these programmes by offering trips and practical experiments as part of the programme which will make science engaging and enjoyable and inspire children to take an interest in science.” 

Rebecca McCleary, Partnership Manager at NYBEP, said: “Our mission is to nurture talent for successful futures by upskilling and identifying opportunities for young people in their local area. With this funding from the Drax Foundation we plan to launch a new programme at schools in Yorkshire which will focus on bringing STEM to life, improving employability, and also encouraging girls into STEM subjects.” 

Alex Liversidge, Project Development Assistant at Don Catchment Rivers Trust, said: “The Trust’s mission is to allow our rivers to THRIVE. Positive change ensures our rivers and their wildlife are better valued and protected into the future. Funding from the Drax Foundation helps us achieve this by allowing the Trust to engage communities through activities such as river clean-ups, Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS) removal days, ‘River Guardian’ educational sessions for children, guided walks and events to celebrate our volunteers.”  

Drax Foundation funds initiatives that support education and skills development in Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM), as well as those that improve green spaces and enhance biodiversity within local communities. Funding is available for organisations ranging from smaller community-led projects to larger grants of £50,000 for established non-profit organizations.

Priority is given to organisations that deliver programmes for under-served and under-represented groups, advance gender equality and support indigenous communities.    

Organisations and initiatives that meet Drax’s funding and selection criteria are encouraged to visit www.drax.com/community  to learn more about the Foundation and submit an initial expression of interest.   

The Drax Foundation is a donor advised fund administered by the Charities Trust (an independently registered charity with the UK Charity Commission, charity no. 327489) 

ENDS 

Pic caption 1: DCRT River Clean-up, photo credit Angela Robson  

Pic caption 2: Children taking part in a STEM activity at Toranj Tuition

Media contacts: 

Megan Hopgood   
Communications Officer
E: [email protected]
T: 07936 350 175     

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 19 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 energy.drax.com 

About DCRT 

The Don Catchment Rivers Trust (DCRT) was established to help protect and restore rivers in the River Don catchment area, this includes not just the River Don but all the rivers and streams which flow into it such as the River Dearne, River Rother, the Sheaf, Went, Ea Beck and many others. 

Our rivers are a valuable asset which tell the story of our culture and heritage. They are important for people, wildlife and the local economy, and form an integral part of our landscape. 

Our mission statement: Working to Protect and Restore Your Rivers 

Vision 

Our rivers will THRIVE. Positive change will ensure our rivers and their wildlife are better valued and protected into the future. The rich heritage, ecology, history and amenity value of our rivers will be appreciated by people, communities, and decision makers.   

What we do / our work 

RIVER RESTORATION – restoring habitats and re-naturalising rivers. Removing barriers and improving fish passage. 

WORKING WITH NATURE – nature-based solutions and natural flood management 

LAND MANAGEMENT – working with farmers and riverside businesses to improve water quality and improve access to our rivers. Tackling invasive species. 

PEOPLE & COMMUNITIES – working with volunteers and community groups to improve their rivers, inspiring young people through educational visits and events, and promoting wellbeing. 

WORKING TOGETHER – promoting and encouraging partnership working and collaboration across the catchment 

EVIDENCE & MONITORING – using data and evidence to support our projects, enabling people by Citizen Science 

Drax sponsors York Pride celebrations

7 June 2023

News

Around the world, Pride celebration and events take place every June. It celebrates love and friendship, recognises how far LGBTQ+ rights have come and shows unity and support for the LGBTQ+ community

This year Drax is celebrating Pride and diversity through community sponsorships, key events and sharing individual stories.

Jess Peacock, DE&I Senior Manager at Drax said: “All colleagues deserve to feel safe, valued and included at work and our commitment to an inclusive environment at Drax is integral to our values.

“Pride is an important time for me personally, and a time for me to share and celebrate my queer identity. The freedom to be myself and feel accepted is an important part of this. We’re pleased that we were able to support the local Pride celebrations in York last weekend.”

Lauren Batchelor, Drax Treasury Manager, said: “My experiences at Drax have been very positive and it’s great that Drax has set up a LGBTQ+ Colleague Resource Group, which provides a safe space and where both people who are part of the community and allies can come together.”

Robin Fussell, Metering Administrator, added: “I am proud to work for an organisation such as Drax. The Colleague Resource Groups (CRG), promotion of Pride and organisational polices encourage a safe, welcome environment, whereby I can be myself, whether that be through my sexuality or how I identify myself, without fear of being isolated, discriminated, bullied, or harassed.”

The company is running a full schedule of events for employees during the month of June to celebrate Pride including a panel of external speakers and sharing colleague blogs on the theme of ‘What Pride Means To Me’.

ENDS

Photo caption: Drax employees at the York Pride celebrations last weekend

Media contacts:

Megan Hopgood
Communications Officer
E: [email protected] 
T: 07936 350 175

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 19 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 energy.drax.com

Drax donates over £37,500 to support STEM education and local community initiatives in Yorkshire

6 June 2023

News

Jane Breach, Drax UK Community Manager, said: “Drax has a long tradition of giving back to the communities we operate in, and this year we have stepped up our community funding to allow us to support even more good causes and ensure our business has a positive impact on people, nature and the climate.

“We are pleased to announce that in the first round of community funding this year we will be awarding close to £60,000 of grants to 40 different organisations in the UK which support STEM education and skills or work to improve the local community.”

Of the total, £37,530 has been awarded to 26 different community-led projects local to Drax Power Station near Selby. This includes developing an outdoor space for volunteering and educational opportunities at St John’s Church in Goole, purchasing equipment to deliver a STEM programme for children at Carlton Playgroup, helping Kellingley Juniors Football Club to purchase sports kit and the Stillingfleet Community Group to deliver a village playground project.

Jonny Patton, Operations Director at St John’s Church, said: “As the only greenspace in the centre of the town, St John’s churchyard has the potential to make a significant contribution to the lives of the people of Goole, and play a key role in the rejuvenation of the town centre. This donation from Drax will help us to progress plans for our project ‘Life and Hope Gardens’, which will be an inclusive and accessible space for volunteering, community-led projects and school activities as well as create opportunities to reduce social isolation and improve health and wellbeing.”

Drax’s Community Fund donations are awarded once a quarter to local projects in the regions where Drax operates which fit into the following categories:

  • STEM education, skills development, and employability
  • Improving green spaces in local communities
  • Improving our communities

Heather Palmer, Director at Carlton Playgroup, said: “We applied to the community fund because we wanted to deliver a new STEM educational programme which would give children the opportunity to develop the concepts and skills needed for these subjects later in life. This donation will allow us to purchase learning resources such as magnifying glasses, nature puzzles, counting blocks, wooden nuts and bolts and coding games all of which promote curiosity and innovation through active learning, playing and exploring.”

Drax’s Community Fund provides donations of £500-£2,000 for community-led projects. In addition, the Drax Foundation was launched in March this year to award larger grants of up to £50,000 for established non-profit organizations.

Organisations and initiatives that meet Drax’s funding and selection criteria are encouraged to visit www.drax.com/community  to learn more about the Foundation and submit an initial expression of interest.

ENDS

Pic caption: Drax UK Community Manager Jane Breach and St John’s Church Vicar Hannah Patton

Media contacts:

Megan Hopgood
Communications Officer
E: [email protected]
T: 07936 350 175

Editor’s Notes

The organisations that have been awarded funding local to Drax Power Station are:

  • Woodlesford Primary School
  • Bubwith Coronation Party
  • Ashby Junior Tenpin Bowling League
  • Wakefield Wildcats Netball Club
  • Snaith Juniors Sonics Under 9s Team
  • York RLFC
  • Applefields School
  • Carlton Railway Society
  • Brayton Busy Bees Preschool
  • Wheldrake with Thorganby CE Primary School
  • Thorne Sea Cadets
  • The Rubicon Centre, Selby
  • Second Chance Ostomy, Selby
  • Whitley Bridge Cricket Club
  • Carlton Primary School
  • Kellingley Juniors Football Club
  • Carlton Playgroup
  • Airmyn Park Primary School
  • Stillingfleet Community Group
  • St John’s Church, Goole
  • Camblesforth Social Events Committee
  • Hensall Community Hall
  • Carleton High School, Pontefract
  • Vixens & Falcons Netball
  • Selby Cricket Club
  • The Goole and District Community Transport Group

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 19 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 energy.drax.com

Drax donates over £14k to support STEM education and local community initiatives in Scotland

News

Shona King, Drax Group Head of Community, said: “Drax has a long tradition of giving back to the communities we operate in, and this year we have stepped up our community funding to allow us to support even more good causes and ensure our business has a positive impact on people, nature and the climate. We are pleased to announce that in the first round of community funding this year we will be awarding close to £60,000 of grants to 40 different organisations in the UK which support STEM education and skills or work to improve the local community.”

Of the total, £14,350 has been awarded to 11 different community-led projects local to Drax’s operations in Scotland. This includes Embers Aquatics who run water safety workshops for primary schools in the Cruachan area, Oban Junior Community Football Club to help them purchase sports equipment and run a training camp trip, Wildcat Explorer Scouts Argyll to purchase climbing equipment and Rockfield Primary School to develop an outdoor area for children with complex needs.

Anna Roscoe, Founding Director of Embers Aquatics, said: “Swimming is a lifesaving skill as well as a great form of exercise, yet the number of children unable to swim in the UK is rising at a drastic rate. This is particularly worrying as we have seen a number of tragic incidents in Scottish waters in recent years. Last summer, we ran vital water safety workshops for local children in schools across Lochaber and now with the help of this funding we plan to expand the workshops to more rural areas across Scotland including the three primary schools close to Cruachan, ensuring that as many children as possible benefit from water safety education.”

Drax’s Community Fund donations are awarded once a quarter to local projects in the regions where Drax operates which fit into the following categories:

  • STEM education, skills development, and employability
  • Improving green spaces in local communities
  • Improving our communities

Kevin Roy, from the Oban Junior Community Football Club, said: “Our football club is an inclusive group which gives children of all backgrounds the opportunity to socialise, meet new people and have fun, all whilst promoting mental and physical health and wellbeing. Securing additional funding helps massively with alleviating some of the financial burden imposed on parents, especially families who are struggling due to the financial challenges that we are facing at present. This donation from Drax will help to cover a whole host of costs from equipment and pitch fees to transport and the annual football trip which is so beneficial for our young people.”

Drax’s Community Fund provides donations of £500-£2,000 for community-led projects. In addition, the Drax Foundation was launched in March this year to award larger grants of up to £50,000 for established non-profit organizations.

Organisations and initiatives that meet Drax’s funding and selection criteria are encouraged to visit www.drax.com/community  to learn more about the Foundation and submit an initial expression of interest.

ENDS

Pic Caption: Oban Junior Community Football Club 2016 Team

Media contacts:

Megan Hopgood
Communications Officer
E: [email protected]
T: 07936 350 175

Editor’s Notes

The organisations that have been awarded funding near to Drax’s operations in Scotland are:

  • Oban Junior Community Football Club
  • Inveraray Primary School Shinty
  • Cambuslang FC 2012
  • Taynuilt Sports Council
  • South West of Scotland Piping & Drumming Academy
  • Terregles Youth FC
  • Locharbriggs Primary School
  • Rockfield Primary School
  • Corpus Christi Primary School
  • Embers Aquatics
  • Wildcat Explorer Scouts Argyll

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 19 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 energy.drax.com

Drax response to Ofgem statement

31 May 2023

News

Ofgem’s announcement states that the opening of an investigation does not imply any finding of non-compliance. It has separately confirmed that it has not established any non-compliance that would affect the issuance of Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs) to Drax, and therefore the associated financial benefit.

Like all energy generators, Drax receives regular requests from Ofgem and continues to cooperate fully throughout this process.

Last year Drax appointed a third party to independently verify the accuracy of its biomass sustainability and profiling data as part of an ongoing process. Drax is confident in the compliance of its biomass with the Renewables Obligation criteria.

A link to the Ofgem statement is below.

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/ofgem-investigating-drax-power-limiteds-compliance-reporting-requirements-relating-renewables-obligation 

 

Enquiries:
Drax Investor Relations: Mark Strafford
+44 (0) 7730 763 949

Media:
Drax External Communications: Chris Mostyn
+44 (0) 7548 838 896 

Website: www.Drax.com

Primary school children rise to Drax’s recycled robots challenge

11 May 2023

News

In March, students aged between seven and eleven at Camblesforth Community Primary Academy (part of Ebor Academy Trust), were provided with individual activity boxes containing a range of learning materials, games and resources they will need to build their robots, the focus of which is on recycling and forms part of their school curriculum.

The robots are made from recyclable materials that can be found around the house such as bottles, tin cans and cardboard and have been designed to carry out recycling tasks such as having magnetic hands to pick up metal, or built-in compartments to store paper.

To launch the project, students received a presentation from the Drax Community and Education team on recycling and the role everyone plays ensuring the correct waste items enter recycling schemes. The Drax team then returned at the end of April to see the results and judge the best robots.

Drax Community and Education Manager, Jane Breach, said: “By providing schools with these resources we hope to help develop students’ understanding of the importance of recycling and fire up their imaginations, inspiring them to study STEM subjects by showing them the wide range of career options that are available.”

Camblesforth Community Primary Academy teacher, Georgia Wynn said: “Creating their amazing robots really sparked the children’s enthusiasm for STEM and drew their focus to the importance of recycling. Activities like these are so important as it brings the subject to life and encourages students to start thinking about careers they might enjoy in the future.”

Drax has a long tradition of supporting education and helping to inspire the next generation of engineers by encouraging interest in STEM subjects. The renewable energy company offers a number of other initiatives to support STEM education and skills including offering power station tours, interactive workshops and work experience opportunities.

ENDS

Pic caption: Camblesforth Primary School pupils with their recycled robots

Media contacts: 

Megan Hopgood
Communications Officer
E: [email protected]
T: 07936 350 175

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 19 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 energy.drax.com

Wind powers Britain more than gas for first time

10 May 2023

News

Almost a third (32.4%) of Britain’s electricity was supplied from wind power during the first quarter of 2023, outpacing gas which delivered 31.7%. It is the first-time wind has provided the largest share of power in any quarter in the history of the country’s electricity grid.

The findings have been released ahead of the next instalment of the quarterly Drax Electric Insights report. The publication is an independent report by academics from Imperial College London commissioned through Imperial Consultants.

Across the three months, Britain’s turbines generated 24 TWh of electricity – enough to charge more than 300 million Tesla Model Ys. Output from wind was 3% higher than during the same quarter last year, while gas was down by 5%.

Almost 42% of Britain’s electricity came from renewable sources (wind, solar, biomass, and hydro) in the first three months of 2023. Fossil fuels supplied 33%, with the rest coming from imports from abroad and the country’s shrinking nuclear fleet.

Dr Iain Staffell of Imperial College London, and lead author of the quarterly Drax Electric Insights report series, said: “The renewable power revolution has transformed how Britain gets its electricity, making our power grid cleaner and greener.

“In the space of a decade the UK has almost completely cut out coal, after relying on the most polluting fossil fuel for over a century to power our country. There are still many hurdles to reaching a completely fossil fuel-free grid, but wind out supplying gas for the first time is a genuine milestone event, and shows what can be achieved when governments create a good environment for investors in clean technology.”

Britain has just one coal-fired power station left following Drax ending the use of the fuel at its plant in North Yorkshire last month. Once the largest coal-fired power station in Western Europe, the plant is now the single largest generator of renewable power in the UK. Over the last decade four of the power station’s six generating units have been converted to use sustainable biomass, providing the UK with clean, green, and secure renewable electricity.

Bruce Heppenstall, Drax Power Station Plant Director, said: “This is a remarkable achievement for the UK, and it comes at a vital time when cutting the use of foreign gas is critical to our national energy security. Throughout the energy crisis, biomass has also played a crucial role in providing the country with a reliable source of renewable power to displace fossil fuels from abroad.

“At Drax, we believe the UK must now focus on unlocking investment in carbon negative technologies, such as Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS), which permanently remove more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than they emit. Only BECCS can simultaneously remove millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere whilst also generating reliable, renewable power when the wind isn’t blowing, or the sun is not shining.

“Countries across the world, and particularly the United States, are stepping up to address climate change, we believe the UK Government should accelerate its policy support for BECCS to give this country the best chance of establishing itself as a world leader in carbon removals, attracting further clean energy investment, creating jobs and delivering its net zero targets.”

ENDS

Media contacts:

Aidan Kerr
Media Manager
E: [email protected]
T: 07849090368

Editor’s Notes:

In Q1 2023, Britain’s electricity fuel mix was:

  • Wind          32.4%  24.0 TWh
  • Gas           31.7%  23.4 TWh
  • Imports     12.6%  9.2 TWh
  • Nuclear     12.5%   9.2 TWh
  • Biomass    5.7%    4.2 TWh
  • Solar          2.3%    1.7 TWh
  • Hydro        1.5%    1.1 TWh
  • Coal           1.3%    0.9 TWh

 

  • The useable battery of a standard Tesla Model Y is 75 kWh, meaning 24 TWh of electricity could charge 320,000,000 of these vehicles.
  • Drax Power Station began co-firing biomass with coal in 2003, with the first of four full-unit conversions from coal to sustainable biomass taking place in 2013.
  • Drax’s UK generation assets are the country’s largest source of renewable power by output – 11% of annualised total, 19% of peak (up to 70% in-day peak) in 2022.

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 19 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