The four-year programme gives new recruits the opportunity to gain expertise working alongside highly skilled engineers at the plant which produces sustainable biofuel from waste which may otherwise end up in landfill.
Drax’s Scottish Assets & Generation Engineering Director Ian Kinnaird said: “Providing these young people with the tools needed to become the skilled workforce of the future is not only essential to the success of our business, it’s also an incredibly rewarding part of what we do.
“Giving our apprentices the opportunity to work on renewable energy technology will ensure we’re nurturing our in-house talent and creating opportunities for people here in Scotland to lead the green energy revolution needed to get the UK to net zero.”
The apprentices beginning their careers at Daldowie Fuel Plant this year are Martin Meechan, aged 18 and Lewis Bennett, aged 21, both from Glasgow.
Lewis Bennett, aged 21
Lewis said: “I applied for an apprenticeship with Drax as I’ve always wanted to work in the energy sector and this is the perfect opportunity to gain engineering experience. I also wanted to work for a company that can train me to a high standard so I can carry this with me throughout my career. I’m looking forward to learning new skills and finding out what it takes to run a plant. I’m very excited for what my future holds at Drax.”
The apprentices will start work on-site at Daldowie Fuel Plant once they have completed formal training at the East Kilbride Group Training Association.
ENDS
Photo caption:
Lewis and Martin in the workshop at the East Kilbride Group Training Association
Media contacts:
Megan Hopgood
Communications Officer
E: [email protected]
T: 07936 350 175
Notes to editors:
Drax is hiring a total of 20 apprentices this year across its sites in the UK, including four in Scotland. All opportunities are advertised on the Drax website.
Drax offers apprenticeships in business support areas such as HR, IT and finance as well as engineering disciplines and also runs several internships and graduate schemes as part of its dedication to improving skills and increasing opportunities for young people in the communities where it operates.
The energy company is also committed to helping its existing employees to boost their skills to ensure they are ready to work on new green technologies like BECCS. Around 50 employees across the group are studying for apprenticeship qualifications.
Drax runs a variety of initiatives to support STEM education and skills in Scotland including offering power station tours, interactive workshops and work experience opportunities.
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
