Archives: Press Release

Selby apprentices win top prizes at Drax awards

30 October 2019

Press releases
Apprenticeships award evening 2019

Kai Lewis, aged 18 from Selby, won the Uniper Engineering Academy Apprentice of the Year Award and Max Shaw, 22, from Gateforth, near Selby, was named Maintenance Apprentice of the Year (Year 2).

Kai always knew he wanted a career in engineering and growing up only a few miles from Drax, he was curious about how the power station, which is the UK’s largest renewable power generator, worked.

Now, having completed two years of his apprenticeship as a technical engineer he is learning more about the important role he and the other engineers play in maintaining the power station so it can continue to produce enough renewable electricity for four million households.

Kai, who attended Snaith High School said:

“Changing Drax from a coal plant to one that could eventually be capturing carbon whilst generating power is a huge challenge that is really exciting to be a part of. Being at the forefront of that kind of innovation and learning new skills on the apprenticeship programme is a great opportunity and it’s great to be recognised for the work I’ve done with this award.”

Max, a Selby High School graduate and third year technical apprentice hopes to further his engineering career once he completes his apprenticeship. He said:

“It means a lot to win this award – it shows that all the hard work I have put in throughout the year has paid off. I’m enjoying my apprenticeship – every day I am learning something new.”

L-R: Mike Maudsley, Max Shaw and Harry Gration

Max’s passion for engineering started from a young age helping his dad, an agricultural engineer.

Mike Maudsley, Drax’s UK Portfolio Generation Director, said of the apprentice awards:

“Inspiring young people and supporting them in their early careers is essential for our business’ future. Each new cohort of apprentices brings enthusiasm and fresh ideas and we want to make sure we’re championing them.

“These awards come straight after Drax doubled the number of apprentices it hired in the space of just two years, reflecting our continued commitment to increasing education and skills across our region.”

The awards were presented by BBC Look North’s Harry Gration with 34 existing and 5 graduating apprentices attending the event along with their mentors and managers.

This year’s winners were:

  • Maintenance Apprentice of the Year 2019 Year 1 – Lewis Marran from Doncaster
  • Maintenance Apprentice of the Year 2019 Year 2 – Max Shaw from Gateforth
  • Maintenance Apprentice of the Year 2019 Year 4 – Josh O’Rourke from Goole
  • Business Apprentice of the Year 2019 and winner of the Paul Chambers Outstanding Achievement Award – Thomas Hughes from Goole
  • Uniper Engineering Academy Apprentice of the Year 2019 – Kai Lewis from Selby

Drax’s technical apprenticeship scheme helps new recruits gain skills and expertise by working alongside engineers who have helped transform the business into the largest decarbonisation project in Europe.

The Drax Technical Apprenticeship TrainingScheme is a four-year programme specialising in three engineering disciplines: Mechanical, Electrical and Control & Instrumentation engineering. Drax’s System Security Apprenticeship is a three-year, Level 3 Fire Emergency and Security Systems Apprenticeship, in conjunction with Lincoln College.

Drax also offers apprenticeships in business support areas, such as Finance and Business Administration. All opportunities are advertised on our website.

ENDS

View Doncaster awards press release.

View Goole awards press release.

Media contacts:

Ali Lewis
Drax Group Head of Media & PR
E: [email protected]
T: 07712670888

Joshua Atkins
Drax Group Press Officer
E: [email protected]
T: 07970256355

 Editor’s Notes

  • Drax has a longstanding commitment to STEM learning, with around 12,000 educational visits to the power station each year. These range from primary school pupils to degree level students, and all visits are tailored to the level of the visiting school, college or university.
  • It is also investing to help boost educational skills by working closely with local schools and colleges to encourage STEM learning.
  • In 2017 Drax welcomed six technical apprentices compared to nine in 2018, and 12 in 2019 with a further system security apprentice, demonstrating its commitment to retaining and developing a skilled workforce.
  • It has also launched a new apprenticeship scheme at its Scottish power generation sites which it is recruiting to now.
  • To find out more about working at Drax, go to https://www.drax.com/us/careers/

About Drax

Drax Group’s ambition is to enable a zero carbon, lower cost energy future. Its 2,600-strong staff 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.

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:  

Drax owns two B2B energy supply businesses:

  • Haven Power, based in Ipswich, supplies electricity and energy services to large Industrial and Commercial sector businesses.
  • Opus Energy, based in Oxford, Northampton and Cardiff, provides electricity, energy services and gas to small and medium sized (SME) businesses.


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/us

Scottish Energy Minister visits Drax’s iconic Cruachan pumped storage hydro power station

24 October 2019

Press releases
Scottish Energy Minister visit to Cruachan

The iconic Cruachan facility in the Western Highlands can generate flexible power within seconds during times of peak demand, helping to keep the lights on for tens of thousands of households. It also provides crucial system support services to the electricity grid, enabling more renewables such as wind and solar to come onto the network. 

Mr. Wheelhouse said:

“It was fascinating to learn more about how important this unique power station is in supporting the energy system and just how quickly it can respond to changes in demand – delivering the power needed in as little as 30 seconds.  

“This kind of flexibility and resilience helps to support the growth of renewables, enabling further decarbonisation of the energy system as we strive for net zero carbon emissions in Scotland by 2045. 

“The real value the technology adds every day to our energy system is the reason why we, and industry partners, continue to call on UK Ministers to take action to ensure that they provide the revenue certainty developers need to underpin further proposed investments in pumped storage hydro capacity in Scotland.” 

(L-R) Drax CEO Generation Andy Koss, Scottish Energy Minister Paul Wheelhouse overlooking the turbine hall inside Cruachan Power Station.

Andy Koss, Drax’s CEO Generation, said:

“Cruachan has been providing stability to the power network since 1965 when the turbines were first installed inside the hollowed-out mountain. As we move to a system with more renewables, the services that Cruachan provides are becoming more essential.  

“I’m incredibly proud of the work done by the team and the role they play in driving decarbonisation and economic growth as we continue to deliver the power relied on by thousands of homes and businesses.” 

Cruachan is one of four pumped storage hydro stations in the UK and has a capacity of 440 MW – enough to power more than 90,000 homes during peak demand.  

Built on the shores of Loch Awe in Argyll and Bute, it was the first reversible pumped storage hydro system on this scale to be built in the world. 

The turbine hall is located 1 km within the hollowed-out mountain of Ben Cruachan and houses four generators, supplying a range of vital balancing and ancillary services to the grid, such as frequency control, spinning and operating reserves, helping to maintain secure power supplies.  

Drax acquired Cruachan along with hydro facilities in Galloway and Lanark and a biomass-from-waste plant at Daldowie, near Glasgow, at the end of last year.  

Scotland is targeting net zero carbon emissions by 2045 – five years ahead of the rest of the UK. 

Top image caption: (L-R) Scottish Energy Minister Paul Wheelhouse, Drax CEO Generation Andy Koss, Drax Head of Hydro Ian Kinnaird outside the Cruchan Power Station.

ENDS 

Media contacts:

Ali Lewis
Drax Group Head of Media & PR
E: [email protected]
T: 07712670888

Selina Williams
Drax Group Media Manager
E: [email protected]
T: 07912230393

Editor’s Notes 

  • Drax Group completed  the acquisition  of a portfolio of renewable, low-carbon and flexible power stations, in strategic locations across the country – from Scotland to the South East coast – on 31st December 2018. 
  • The plant has four primary modes of operation and can deliver a range of balancing and ancillary services. 
  • Cruachan acts responsively by generating electricity to meet peak-time demand. It can achieve full load in 30 seconds and can maintain its maximum power production for more than 16 hours if necessary. 
  • Cruachan’s Hollow Mountain visitor centre is also a popular tourist destination and was recently named by VisitScotland as one of its top visitor attractions. 
  • Guided tours are available through the Cruachan website <LINK> and school groups go free to encourage the next generation of engineers. 
  • This year, Drax recruited five apprentice engineers for its Scottish hydro sites, further boosting STEM education and local skills. 

About Drax

Drax Group’s ambition is to enable a zero carbon, lower cost energy future. Its 2,600-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.

Its pumped storage, hydro and energy from waste assets in Scotland include Cruachan Power Station – a flexible pumped storage hydro facility within the hollowed-out mountain Ben Cruachan.  It also owns and operates four gas power stations in England.

For more information visit www.drax.com/us

Customers:  

Drax owns two B2B energy supply businesses:

  • Haven Power, based in Ipswich, supplies electricity and energy services to large Industrial and Commercial sector businesses.
  • Opus Energy, based in Oxford, Northampton and Cardiff, provides electricity, energy services and gas to small and medium sized (SME) businesses.

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/us

Outdoor education at Drax’s Skylark Centre goes from strength to strength

22 October 2019

Press releases
Skylark Nature Centre activities

In the three years since Outdoor Ted began operating, more than 1,000 pupils have enjoyed educational visits to the Drax-owned Skylark Centre within the Barlow Nature Reserve as part of their studies at school.

By creating new and exciting educational experiences based around the National Curriculum in outdoor settings, Outdoor Ted makes learning more accessible and fun for pupils, resulting in positive feedback from teachers and repeat bookings.

The latest packages being developed for schools are aimed at helping to deliver education across all areas of the curriculum including history, geography and maths.

Outdoor Ted’s Owner, Stacey Howard said:

“Being able to use Drax’s Skylark Centre at the Nature Reserve has been a fantastic opportunity for us and the school groups we bring with us. With over a hundred species and great access provided by the team at Drax, Skylark’s a huge asset which we’re excited to continue to use.”

Drax’s Educational Tours team also offers free tours of the neighbouring power station – the UK’s largest renewable power generator – making for a fun-packed, day-long, school visit, during which students also learn about how electricity is produced, promoting science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects.

Drax Group’s Head of Sustainable Business, Vicky’s Bullivant said:

“The work we do with Outdoor Ted is all part of how we’re inspiring the next generation. Inviting young people to use our facilities at Drax provides an inspirational place to learn.

“Encouraging children of all ages to be interested at school, particularly in STEM subjects, helps to boost education and skills and develop the talented workforce needed for businesses like ours to continue to develop and grow in the future.”

The Skylark Centre is within the Barlow Nature Reserve owned by Drax, which is home to a variety of wildlife including deer, sheep, herons and skylarks, it even houses a swan sanctuary. It is open for the community to enjoy throughout the year with a number of community events and activities organised by Drax which the public can book onto.

For more information about visiting Drax’s Skylark Visitor Centre please visit the website here.

ENDS

Media contacts:

Ali Lewis
Drax Group Head of Media & PR
E: [email protected]
T: 07712670888

Selina Williams
Drax Group Media Manager
E: [email protected]
T: 07912230393

About Outdoor Ted

Outdoor Ted provides exciting and new ways to access the National Curriculum outside the classroom and having been joined by Sarah Needham, an experienced primary teacher, these can also now be delivered in schools maximising school grounds by delivering sessions on site. Arrows Archery, Bird I.D and campfire cooking are already proving popular at during school time and after school clubs.

  • Outdoor Ted is owned by Stacey Howard who has over 20 years of experience working in primary schools. Stacey she is passionate about getting children in the outdoors not only to learn about nature but to build resilience with a range of high-quality team building, problem solving, campfire cooking and shelter building activities.
  • The Skylark Nature Reserve is also home to Yorkshire Swan Rescue Hospital, a charity run by Dan Sibley M.B.E. When Dan is not out rescuing injured animals, he shows visiting schools around the hospital and chat with the children about caring for injured animals.

If any schools are interested in the delivery of Outdoor Ted please contact [email protected] and visit www.outdoorted.co.uk for more details.

About Drax

Drax Group’s ambition is to enable a zero carbon, lower cost energy future. Its 2,600-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.

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.

For more information visit www.drax.com/us

Customers:  

Drax owns two B2B energy supply businesses:

  • Haven Power, based in Ipswich, supplies electricity and energy services to large Industrial and Commercial sector businesses.
  • Opus Energy, based in Oxford, Northampton and Cardiff, provides electricity, energy services and gas to small and medium sized (SME) businesses.

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/us

Chemin-a-Haut 4 Mile Race and 1 Mile Walk scheduled for October 19

10 October 2019

Press releases

he popularity of the event is growing, and a large group of participants is expected. To add to the excitement, the event encourages team registration which is a minimum of 5 participants. The Chemin-a-Haut 4 Mile Trail Run and 1 Mile Walk is designed with three main purposes in mind:

  • First, to provide a great race for everyone that enjoys trail running or walking along natural trails under towering cypress, hickory, and oak forests, and along a scenic lakeshore and bayou.
  • Second, to enjoy the unspoiled beauty that one of the oldest and most natural state parks in Louisiana has to offer as you enjoy the comradery of friends. The running course will pass by thousands of years old cypress trees, and run along the “high road,” the same route used by Native Americans centuries ago in their seasonal migration.
  • Both awards and participant medallions are handmade from cypress trees. Plan to stay after the event to kayak on Bayou Bartholomew, Slough Lake, or Chemin-a-Haut Creek. Go to Chemin-a-Haut Trail Run and Walk on Facebook to see photos of these unique awards.
  • Register at Eventbrite.com. For both the run and the walk, the registration fee is $25 which includes a t-shirt. Late registration, which is $30, begins October 11.

Event Schedule October 19

  • 7:30 – 8:15 a.m. – Check-In/Packet Pick-Up
  • 7:30 – 8:15 a.m. – Late Registration
  • 8:30 a.m. – 4 Mile Trail Run & 1 Mile Walk

Title Sponsors

Drax and Delta Healthcare Management, LLC are Title Sponsors.

Organizer

The Morehouse Innovation and Technology Alliance (MITA), which is composed of all volunteers, is organizing the fun event. Proceeds from the trail run and walk are re-invested in projects to benefit and raise awareness for the Chemin-a-Haut, for Bussey Brake, for the Morehouse Memorial Airport, and for projects that create pride in Morehouse Parish. MITA would like to thank their sponsors and the many community involved people for helping to make the event possible.

For more information call (318) 282-2985.

New carbon capture technology could help industry and agricultural sector decarbonise

17 June 2019

Press releases
Salmon fish farm pools in the see lochs near Portree, Sound of Raasay, Isle of Skyue, Highlands of Scotland
  • Innovative biotech start-up, Deep Branch Biotechnology, is partnering with Drax Group on a new bioenergy carbon capture usage and storage (BECCUS) pilot which could help reduce emissions from the agricultural sector
  • Carbon dioxide will be used to create protein which could replace soy and fishmeal, the main components in fish and livestock feeds
  • The project aims to help meet the anticipated increase in global demand for meat products
  • Global markets for single cell proteins could be worth £9bn by 2023

Drax is working with biotech start-up Deep Branch Biotechnology to explore the feasibility of using the power station’s carbon dioxide emissions to make proteins for sustainable animal feed products.

Deep Branch Biotechnology, a leading tech start-up based at Nottingham University, will place a pilot plant within Drax’s Carbon Capture Usage and Storage (CCUS) Incubation Area at its power station in North Yorkshire.

It will extract flue gases from the power station’s renewable electricity generation to feed to microbes, which can make single cell proteins for use in fish food and other sustainable animal feeds.

Drax Group CEO Will Gardiner said:

“By giving partners like Deep Branch Biotechnology access to our CCUS Incubation Area we can test emerging technologies and explore their potential in delivering for both the climate and the economy.

“We want to create a cleaner environment for future generations whilst generating new jobs and export opportunities for British businesses. Technologies like this could enable some of our more difficult to decarbonise sectors, like agriculture, to make positive changes to address the climate crisis.”

Drax Power Station is the biggest renewable electricity generator in the UK and the largest decarbonisation project in Europe having converted two thirds of the plant to use sustainable biomass instead of coal.

It is exploring the feasibility of using BECCUS technologies to help further reduce its emissions and contribute towards the UK meeting its climate targets. This is Drax’s first incubation project exploring a market for carbon dioxide. The power station has also held discussions with the British Beer and Pub association about the possibility of captured CO2 being used to carbonate drinks.

Drax Group CEO Will Gardiner (second right) accompanied Energy and Clean Growth Minister Claire Perry in a visit to the Drax Power Station BECCS pilot project in November 2018. Download graphic in high-res

A dedicated Incubation Area has been created at the power station to give other technology companies the opportunity to test their processes on its carbon dioxide.

Chris Skidmore, Minister for Energy and Clean Growth, said:

“Carbon capture, usage and storage technologies are not only putting fizz in our drinks but feeding fish too.

“As we move towards net zero emissions and end our contribution to global warming, innovative projects like this will help reduce agricultural emissions and meet increasing demand for animal feed, demonstrating the enormous global potential CCUS has to tackle climate change.”

Peter Rowe, Deep Branch Biotechnology CEO, explained that the method they have developed for producing proteins from CO2, relies on an edible microbe that consumes carbon dioxide.

When fed carbon dioxide, the microbes grow and reproduce, enabling them to be continually harvested for protein whilst maintaining a growing culture. Under optimal conditions, up to 70 per cent of the material produced is protein.

The benefits of this process over other carbon capture technologies is that the CO2 does not need to be separated from the power station’s flue gases before being fed to the microbes.

Peter said:

“Meat production is set to double by 2050 as global populations increase, but using existing methods of producing animal feeds to meet this growing demand is completely unsustainable.

“The technology we’ve developed is an exciting solution. We can convert up to 60-70% of CO2 into protein, helping to both minimise the greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere during power generation and other industrial processes, whilst producing protein for animal feeds which will help reduce the impact of agricultural sectors on the environment as well.”

The USA is the world’s biggest soy producer, producing one third of global supply, and uses 97% to produce animal feed. Over 60% of cereals grown globally are being used in animal feeds along with 20 million tonnes of ocean-caught fish.

Concerns about overfishing have seen the aquaculture (farmed fish) industry boom, yet this industry uses more than 15% of ocean-caught fish for feed, in the form of fishmeal.

The new proteins created using the Deep Branch biotechnology could help reduce the quantities of fish removed from the oceans. This not only minimises the impact on ecosystems, but decreases the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, mitigating the harmful effects of climate change.

The Deep Branch pilot will get underway in the autumn, when a demonstration plant will be installed within the Drax CCUS Incubation Area.

It aims to capture enough CO2 to produce 100kg of protein to be used to create feedstocks for fish and livestock. The protein generated from the project will be used in a trial project with a major feed producer.

If successful, Deep Branch Biotechnology plans to build a larger production facility by 2020 so it can produce several tonnes of protein per year.

ENDS

Media contacts:

Ali Lewis
Drax Group Head of Media & PR
E: [email protected]
T: 07712670888

Jessica Gorton
Drax Group Press Officer
E: [email protected]
T: 07712677177

Deep Branch Biotechnology
[email protected]

Editors’ note:

  • Drax announced in February that is had started to capture carbon dioxide from its first Bioenergy Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) pilot project using technology developed by Leeds University spin-out company C-Capture.
  • This is the first-time carbon dioxide has been captured from the combustion of a 100% biomass feedstock anywhere in the world. If the pilot can be scaled up to deliver negative emissions, Drax Power Station would be helping to remove the gases that cause global warming from the atmosphere at the same time as electricity is produced.
  • Since starting its innovative BECCS pilot project Drax has been talking to several industries about using its CO2 in their processes. This could be to produce concrete, within the food and drinks industry or creating synthetic fuels to use in hard-to-decarbonise sectors like aviation.
  • Drax announced in May it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Equinor and National Grid Ventures. The three energy companies will work together to explore how a large-scale carbon capture usage and storage (CCUS) network and a hydrogen production facility could be constructed in the Humber in the mid-2020s.
  • The Committee on Climate Change’s Net Zero report states that BECCS could generate up to 173 TWh of electricity by 2050, capturing up to 51 Mt CO2 – around half of the remaining carbon in the economy that the UK will need to capture to become ‘net zero’.
  • Today Drax is capturing a tonne of carbon dioxide a day from its C-Capture BECCS pilot – once scaled up it could be capturing up to 16 million tonnes of carbon a day from its four biomass generating units.
  • The agricultural sector was one highlighted by the Committee on Climate Change in its Net Zero report, as being too slow to make progress in reducing emissions.
  • The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation has found that around a third of all global cropland is used to grow animal feed, in the form of soy.
  • Around 15 per cent of all fish caught globally are turned into feed for commercial fisheries, according to analysis by the UK’s Sea Fish Industry Authority.
  • Using bacteria to make protein for animal feed was first considered in the 1970s. It is now more economically viable as producing fishmeal powder from milling and drying fish parts has become more expensive and has not kept up with growing human demand for fish.

 About Deep Branch Biotechnology:  Deep Branch Biotechnology’s mission is to transform the polluters of today into the producers of tomorrow. Their technology removes carbon dioxide directly from emissions, generating single cell protein, a clean and sustainable alternative to soy and fishmeal, the conventional protein sources for livestock and aquaculture feed. They were recently recognised in Forbes’ European 30 Under 30 Manufacturing & Industry 2019.

For more information visit www.deepbranchbio.com

About Drax

Drax Group’s ambition is to enable a zero carbon, lower cost energy future. Its 2,600-strong staff 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.

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.

B2B supply:  

Drax owns two B2B energy supply businesses:

  • Haven Power, based in Ipswich, supplies electricity and energy services to large Industrial and Commercial sector businesses.
  • Opus Energy, based in Oxford, Northampton and Cardiff, provides electricity, energy services and gas to small and medium sized (SME) businesses.

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/us

Morehouse May Madness Street Festival offers variety of music, entertainment and fun – May 3 & 4

19 April 2019

Press releases

Event Schedule

  • Mike McKenzie will kick-off the festival at the Rose Theatre at 7:00 p.m. Friday, May 3. Tickets, which are $20 each with students and senior 65 and older $10 each, are available at the Visitor Center (281-0911), Cox Funeral Home (283-3100) and at the door.
  • With no gate or admission fees, the Festival begins at 9:00 a.m. Saturday, May 4 in the historic district of Bastrop and will last until 4:00 p.m. Security will be provided on Friday night, May 3, for those vendors that want to set their booths up from 5:30 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. Friday.
  • Downtown streets (Madison, Washington, and Franklin) will close at approximately 7:00 a.m. Saturday morning to allow vendors to set-up early. Jefferson Street will remain open to through traffic.
  • The Morehouse Country Club golf scramble participants tee-off at 10:00 a.m. Saturday. The Bastrop High School Class of 1969 will be recognized during the event by the emcees on the west end of the courthouse where the live music will be located.
  • There will be a pet costume contest organized by Melton Veterinary Hospital at 11:00 a.m. Saturday in the Kid Zone and the Memorial Methodist Church will bless pets at their booth throughout the day.

While enjoying the fantastic food available at the festival, MMM (Morehouse May Madness) guests will be entertained with live music from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. Saturday with seating available at benches and tables with colorful umbrellas for shade.

  • Entertainment begins with local group, Homegrown, who will play from 9:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m.
  • Joey Kennedy and the New Life Church musicians will play from 10:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m.
  • Willie Johnson will play his saxophone from 11:00 a.m. until 12:00 Noon.
  • Barrett Pepper and Chad Thomas will take the stage at Noon until 2:00 p.m.
  • The CC Players will provide entertainment from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.

On stage to help with introductions and recognitions, will be emcees Gary Guice, Patricia Bordelon, and Mayor Henry Cotton.  Representatives from the MMM Title Sponsors, Drax Biomass and Morehouse Community Medical Centers, will be welcoming everyone to the festival as well.

The event, which is organized by volunteers, would not be possible without the festival sponsors and the tremendous amount of community support that the festival has received.  All funds that are raised from the festival are reinvested in future Morehouse May Madness Street Festivals.  Organizers would like to express appreciation to all those who have worked to make the event a success.

For more information go to www.morehousemaymadness.com, find the festival on Facebook, or call (318) 282-2985.