Archives: Press Release

Drax to kickstart development of $40m Arkansas pellet plants

6 May 2021

News

The three plants are together expected to produce around 120,000 metric tons of sustainable biomass pellets a year from sawmill residues, supporting the renewable energy company’s plans to increase self-supply to its power station in the U.K.

Drax will begin construction of the first plant later this month near a West Fraser sawmill in Leola, Grant County – with commissioning expected in October. The company will begin construction on two more plants in other locations in the coming months. In total, Drax will invest $40 million in the state, creating approximately 30 new direct jobs and many more indirect jobs across three Arkansas communities.

Drax has transformed its power station in the U.K. to become the largest decarbonization project in Europe by converting it to use sustainable biomass instead of coal.

The development of the “satellite” pellet plants is part of Drax’s strategy to increase biomass self-supply to five million tons by 2027, improving supply chain resilience while reducing pellet costs.

Will Gardiner, Drax Group CEO, said:

Drax Group CEO Will Gardiner [click to view/download]

“By building these new pellet plants Drax is bringing jobs and opportunities to rural communities in Arkansas, boosting the state’s post-COVID economic recovery.“Through this investment, Arkansas will play an important role in combating climate change, supporting Drax to increase the amount of sustainable biomass we produce as part of our plans to pioneer bioenergy with carbon capture and storage. By using sustainable biomass, we have displaced coal-fired power generation, reduced carbon emissions and provided renewable electricity for millions of homes and businesses in the UK.”

The Leola “satellite” pellet plant is expected to produce around 40,000 metric tons of sustainable biomass pellets a year. Drax will also utilize the sawdust and other dry residual materials, which are by-products created when timber is processed, at West Fraser’s facility.

“Drax’s ambitious company vision combined with the renowned tenacity and loyalty of Arkansans make this partnership an excellent match,” Gov. Asa Hutchinson said. “I am confident that this investment will benefit both the company and our communities for years to come.”

By co-locating the pellet facilities with sawmills, Drax will benefit from lower infrastructure, operational, and transportation costs.

“Each of these three Arkansas communities will be uniquely impacted by today’s announcement,” Arkansas Secretary of Commerce Mike Preston said. “Families in different regions across the state will experience new opportunities and their communities will experience continued growth because of Drax’s investment. I congratulate Drax on this exciting news and look forward to the ways that Arkansas will be influential in accomplishing the company’s mission to provide renewable electricity for millions of homes and businesses.”

Reducing the costs of its biomass supports the renewable energy company’s world-leading ambition to be carbon negative by 2030 by developing bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS). This vital negative emissions technology could permanently remove millions of tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, while producing the renewable electricity needed to decarbonize global economies and address the climate emergency.

Drax owns and has interests in 17 other pellet plants and development projects across the U.S.  and South and Western Canada.

The company will host job fairs to recruit for positions at the Leola site later this month.

Media contacts:

Annmarie Sartor
Drax Biomass Communications Officer
E: [email protected]
T: +1 318-801-0046

Aidan Kerr
Drax Group Media Manager
E: [email protected]
T: +44 7849 090368

Picture caption: Morehouse BioEnergy, an existing Drax Biomass wood pellet plant located in Louisiana, close to the border with Arkansas. The majority of its fibre comes from responsibly managed working forests in Arkansas and sawmill residues. Click to view/download here. 

Editor’s Notes

  • The sustainable biomass pellets produced at the new satellite plants will be transported to Bruce Oakley terminal in Little Rock, Ark. before being shipped south to Louisiana to oceangoing vessels.
  • Each pellet plant is expected to produce 40kt per year, with the total cluster expected to produce120kt per year.
  • The development of the three ‘satellite’ plants comes after Drax’s recent acquisition of 11 pellet plants across the USA and Canada, making it a world-leading biomass pellet production and supply business.
  • Drax’s strategy is to reduce the costs of its pellets to £50/MWh by 2027.
  • In 2020, around 43% of the material used in Drax Power Station’s pellets came from sawmill residues. The rest came from low-grade material such as treetops, limbs and misshapen and diseased trees not suitable for other use and thinnings – small trees removed maximise the growth of the forest.

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 3,400 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.

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.

Pellet production and supply:

Drax owns and has interests in 17 pellet mills in the US South and Western Canada which have the capacity to manufacture 4.9 million tonnes of compressed wood pellets (biomass) a year. 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 mills supply around 20% of the biomass used at its own power station in North Yorkshire, England to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses.

Customers: 

Through its two B2B energy supply brands, Haven Power and Opus Energy, Drax supplies energy to 250,000 businesses across Britain.

For more information visit www.drax.com

Drax signs up to ambitious Race To Zero climate commitment

29 April 2021

News
Aerial photo of biomass storage domes, Drax Power Station

Drax Group has today joined the Race to Zero, committing the company to science-based targets to help fight the climate crisis.

Led by the United Nations, Drax joins more than 2000 companies worldwide, that have signed up to the campaign, which brings together businesses, cities, regions, states, and universities with a joint commitment to science-based net zero targets to limit global temperature increases to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels.

Drax has already made ambitious climate commitments and was the first company in the world to announce a world-leading ambition to be carbon negative by 2030, at COP 25 in Madrid in 2019.

Having converted its power station, near Selby in North Yorkshire, to use sustainable biomass instead of coal it has become the largest decarbonisation project in Europe. Now it plans to go further by using a vital negative emissions technology – bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), to capture and permanently remove millions of tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere each year, creating a negative carbon footprint for the company.

Will Gardiner, Drax Group CEO, said:

“The climate crisis is the greatest challenge the world faces, and tackling it requires action that transcends borders, bringing together businesses and governments with a shared goal.

“At Drax, we’re investing in the innovative green technology – bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), which will be vital if the UK is to meet its ambitious target to reduce carbon emissions by 78% by 2035, announced by the Prime Minister last week. By joining Race to Zero we are committing to further reducing our emissions and tackling the climate emergency.”

Andrew Griffith MP, Net Zero Champion, said:

“I’m delighted Drax has signed on to be part of the Race to Zero coalition. Businesses have a central role to play in making a successful transition to a low carbon economy and shifting to a net-zero emissions economy requires coordinated action across all sectors. I hope other businesses across the sector follow in Drax’s footsteps and join the Race to Zero.”

ENDS

Media contacts:

Ben Wicks
Media Manager
E: [email protected]
T: 07761525662

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 3,400 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.

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.

Pellet production and supply:

Drax owns and has interests in 17 pellet mills in the US South and Western Canada which have the capacity to manufacture 4.9 million tonnes of compressed wood pellets (biomass) a year. 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 mills supply around 20% of the biomass used at its own power station in North Yorkshire, England to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses.

Customers:

Through its two B2B energy supply brands, Haven Power and Opus Energy, Drax supplies energy to 250,000 businesses across Britain.

For more information visit www.drax.com/uscop

Drax completes acquisition of Pinnacle Renewable Energy Inc.

13 April 2021

Press releases

The acquisition positions Drax as the world’s leading sustainable biomass generation and supply business. It received overwhelming support from both sets of shareholders with 95.97% of Pinnacle’s and 99.99% of Drax’s shareholders voting in favour.

It transforms Drax into a truly international business, trading bioenergy from the North America continent to Europe and Asia, and positions the enlarged Group to take advantage of global growth opportunities, with the market for biomass pellets for renewable generation in Europe and Asia expected to grow significantly.

This large and geographically diversified asset base enhances Drax’s sourcing flexibility and security of supply.

The acquisition will increase Drax’s annual operational capacity to 4.9 million tonnes of sustainable biomass pellets from 2022, at 17 plants in locations across Western Canada and the US South – up from 1.6Mt now. Of this increased capacity, 2.9 million will be available for Drax’s self-supply requirements from 2022. It will also give the Group access to four deep water port facilities and three major wood fibre baskets.

By advancing the strategy to increase self-supply and reduce biomass production costs, the acquisition paves the way for the Company’s plans to deliver Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS), permanently removing millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year.

By becoming a world leader in BECCS, Drax can deliver on its purpose of enabling a zero carbon, lower cost energy future, and achieve its ambition to become a carbon negative company by 2030.  Drax will seek to export its BECCS expertise around the world to support global efforts to address the climate emergency.

Will Gardiner, Chief Executive Officer of Drax, said:

“This is an exciting and important acquisition which positions Drax as the world’s leading sustainable biomass generation and supply business. I am delighted to welcome our new Pinnacle colleagues to the Drax family and look forward to what we can achieve together.

Drax Group CEO Will Gardiner

Drax Group CEO Will Gardiner in the control room at Drax Power Station [Click to view/download]

“As well as making Drax an international supplier of sustainable biomass, this deal advances our strategy to increase self-supply, reduce our own biomass production cost and create a long-term future for sustainable bioenergy. We expect to benefit greatly from Pinnacle’s operational and commercial expertise.

“Through this deal we are also advancing our plans to use BECCS to permanently remove millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year and become a carbon negative company by 2030. Negative emissions from BECCS are vital if we are to address the global climate emergency. BECCS will also provide a significant share of the renewable electricity needed in a net zero economy, support green jobs and drive growth in a post-COVID recovery.”

ENDS

Media contacts:

Ali Lewis
Drax Group Head of Media and PR
E: [email protected]
T: +44 (0) 7712 670 888

Editor’s Notes:

Read stock market announcement: Completion of the acquisition of Pinnacle Renewable Energy Inc.

Read blog by Will Gardiner: The world’s leading sustainable biomass generation and supply business

Drax now has ownership interests in a total of ten operational pellet plants, and one in development, in Western Canada and the US South:

PlantLocationStatusCommissioningNameplate Capacity (Mt)Pinnacle Ownership (%)
Williams LakeBC, CanadaOperational20040.2100%
HoustonBC, CanadaOperational20060.230%
ArmstrongBC, CanadaOperational20070.1100%
MeadowbankBC, CanadaOperational20080.2100%
Burns LakeBC, CanadaOperational20110.4100%
LavingtonBC, CanadaOperational20150.375%
SmithersBC, CanadaOperational20180.170%
EntwistleAlberta, CanadaOperational20180.4100%
AlicevilleAlabama, USAOperational20180.370%
High LevelAlberta, CanadaOperational20200.250%
DemopolisAlabama, USADevelopmentEst. 20210.470%
Total2.982%

These are in addition to the six pellet plants in the US South Drax already owns:

  • LaSalle and Morehouse pellet plants in Louisiana,
  • Amite in Mississippi
  • Three satellite pellet plants in Arkansas which are in development.

As a result of the acquisition Drax now has access to four deep water ports, providing good access to European and Asian markets. The ports are:

  • Vancouver, BC, Canada
  • Prince Rupert, BC, Canada
  • Mobile, Alabama, USA
  • Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

Drax maintains a rigorous and robust approach to biomass sustainability, as well as the safe operation of its pellet plants.

Pinnacle’s wood pellets are principally sourced from sawdust and other materials left over from existing sawmilling activity, which would otherwise be left to decompose or be burned. 

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 3,400 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.

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.

Pellet production and supply:

Drax owns and has interests in 17 pellet mills in the US South and Western Canada which have the capacity to manufacture 4.9 million tonnes of compressed wood pellets (biomass) a year. 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 mills supply around 20% of the biomass used at its own power station in North Yorkshire, England to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses.

Customers:  

Through its two B2B energy supply brands, Haven Power and Opus Energy, Drax supplies energy to 250,000 businesses across Britain.

For more information visit www.drax.com/us

Drax Biomass seeks stakeholder evaluation of wood procurement

23 March 2021

Press releases

Dear Stakeholder:

Drax Biomass Inc. (DBI) manufactures compressed wood pellets produced from sustainably managed working forests in the southern US.  Headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana, Drax Biomass owns and operates three existing wood pellet manufacturing plants: Amite Bioenergy in Gloster, Mississippi, Morehouse Bioenergy near Bastrop, Louisiana, and LaSalle Bioenergy near Urania, Louisiana.  Drax Biomass is also expanding to include three satellite sawmill operations in Arkansas (collectively referred to as Arkansas Bioenergy).  Pellets produced at Amite, Morehouse, and LaSalle are derived from low-grade roundwood, forest residuals, and sawmill residuals.  Pellets produced at the three satellites facilities will be derived purely from sawmill residuals.  Pellets are transported by train, truck, and barge, then loaded onto ships bound from Baton Rouge to the UK.  In the UK they are used at the Drax Power Station to generate flexible, renewable power for UK homes and businesses.  The use of sustainably sourced wood pellets is a part of Drax Group’s strategy to enable a zero-carbon economy and help the UK meet their climate change commitments.

To assure sustainable sourcing, DBI participates in four certification programs: FSC® Chain of Custody & Controlled Wood, SFI® Chain of Custody & Fiber Sourcing, the PEFC™ Chain of Custody and the Sustainable Biomass Program (SBP).  Underpinning DBI’s sustainability program is SBP’s Supply Base Evaluation which provides a formal framework for the evaluation of potential risks related to forest sourcing.  All plants share the same supply area and are considered under one Supply Base Evaluation.

This consultation serves two primary purposes (1) to attain SBP certification for the three Arkansas Bioenergy satellite plants (located in Leola, Russellville, and Bearden AR respectively), and to (2) expand the supply base for all plants to include three more counties in Oklahoma (Delaware, Adair and Cherokee).   We are specifically seeking input from stakeholders to test if risk evaluations and proposed mitigations remain reasonable for our supply base.  For those of you which received a consultation request in 2020 (for Amite and Morehouse recertification), you will find that there have been no changes made to our risk designations or risk mitigations.

You can find the Supply Base Evaluation document here.  Comments can be submitted via email during the period spanning March 23rdthrough April 23rd, 2021.

Thank you in advance for any feedback you can provide.

Sincerely,

Drax Biomass Team

Drax Biomass seeks stakeholder evaluation of wood procurement

Press releases

Drax Biomass Inc. (DBI) is committed to implementing and maintaining conformance with the Sustainable Biomass Program (SBP) and the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®). As part of that commitment, DBI is undertaking an evaluation concerning risks associated with the procurement of wood fibre. Part of this process is to solicit and address relevant stakeholder comments.

DBI is seeking comments from stakeholders addressing risks associated with the SBP Standard 1: Feedstock Compliance Standard principles. The stakeholder consultation is a requirement of recertification to the SBP Standard.

The Supply Base Evaluation (SBE) document can be accessed here.  Please be specific with feedback. Reference instances during forest management activities where concern for negative impact is relevant, cite sources and indicate the applicable region.

In addition, DBI will undergo regular sustainability systems surveillance external audits of existing facilities August through November 2020.

Comments can be submitted via email during the period spanning July 14th  through August 14th, 2020.

Drax Biomass donates $20,000 to help Louisiana communities rebuild two vital public buildings

22 December 2020

Press releases

The funds donated will help pay for repairs to the roof of Urania’s recreation hall – where the town’s residents gather for dinners to mark Veterans Day and other holidays and to play pool or use the bowling lanes – as well as helping to rebuild the public pavilion in the town of Olla, that hosts events from farmers markets to weddings. Each project received $10,000 from Drax.

Mayor of Olla, Rhonda Elliott presenting the cheque donated by Drax

Drax Biomass Senior Vice President Matt White said:

Matt White, SVP Drax Biomass.

“This year has been hard for many people in this region – the Covid-19 pandemic, a tornado and then Hurricane Laura in August, which hit these two buildings at the centre of community life in Olla and Urania.

“It’s important to support the people and communities in the areas where we operate. That’s why we’re donating $20,000 to help repair and rebuild the rec hall in Urania and the public pavilion in Olla.”

Drax Biomass, part of British energy company Drax Group, is headquartered in Monroe, La., with operations in the southeastern U.S. The company is committed to supporting the communities in which it operates by promoting sustainable forestry and investing in local economic development. One of the three pellet mills it owns and operates is located in Urania.

Urania Mayor Terri Corley said:

The pavilion in Olla, LA, was a popular location for events ranging from the farmers market to weddings and other celebrations.

“The Urania rec hall is full of memories for all our citizens – both old and new. We are so grateful that Drax, one of the newest members of the Urania family, recognizes the importance of the building and wants to invest in repairing the roof. This will help ensure we get to make more memories for many years to come.”

Olla Mayor Rhonda Elliott said: “We really appreciate this support from Drax Biomass for our small town. The donation will boost our efforts to rebuild the pavilion so we can once again hold the farmers market our town is well known for.”

Drax Biomass produces sustainable compressed wood pellets at its pellet plants in Louisiana and Mississippi. The pellets are shipped to Drax Power Station in England and used to generate renewable electricity for millions of UK homes and businesses.

Around two thirds of the sustainable biomass Drax uses each year comes from the sustainably managed working forests of the US southeast. The plants also deliver economic growth and jobs in the US south.

Top image caption: Damage to the public pavilion in Olla, LA by Hurricane Laura.

Media contacts:

Annmarie Sartor
Drax Biomass Communications Officer
E: [email protected]
T: +1 318-801-0046

Selina Williams
Drax Group Media Manager
E: [email protected]
T: +44 7912 230393

Editor’s Notes

  • The pellets produced at Drax’s US pellet plants are sent by rail and truck from the plants in Louisiana and Mississippi to Drax’s Baton Rouge export facility before being loaded onto ships for their transatlantic journey.
  • Earlier this year, Drax received and unloaded its 100thshipment of sustainable biomass from Baton Rouge.
  • Sustainable biomass is an important part of the UK’s long-term energy mix. Using sustainable biomass instead of coal at Drax Power Station has already delivered carbon savings of more than 80% and made Drax Europe’s largest decarbonization project.

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

Coalition for Negative Emissions responds to Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution

18 November 2020

Press releases
Engineers at Drax Power Station

Removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through a combination of bioenergy with carbon capture, direct air capture, management of trees and other nature-based solutions will be critical to making net zero a reality in the UK.

Today’s commitment from the Prime Minister to have four industrial clusters in the UK by 2030, supported by £200m of additional funding, will be vital to unlocking the carbon capture infrastructure needed for BECCS and DACCS projects to progress in the 2020s.

In doing so, the UK can become a world leader in these technologies and avoid the costs of delayed action.

The 2030 target of 10 million tonnes per year of CO2 removed should create a competitive market to capture and store CO2 at large scale, as well as usage.

The Coalition for Negative Emissions includes Biomass UK, Carbon Engineering, Carbon Removal Centre, CBI, CCSA, Climeworks, Drax, Energy UK, Heathrow, IAG, REA, NFU and Velocys.