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John brings extensive energy, engineering and safety experience with over 45 years spent working across nuclear, electricity and latterly the oil and gas sectors. Between 2004 and 2015 John was at BP plc, most recently as Group Head of Engineering & Process Safety, prior to which he was Group Engineering Director at Powergen plc.

Having originally trained as a Royal Navy Engineer Officer, serving on nuclear submarines, John is currently Visiting Professor of Nuclear Engineering at The University of Strathclyde. He is also a Non-Executive Director of Sellafield Ltd, the nuclear site management company based in Cumbria. John chairs the Sellafield Board Committee on Environment, Health, Safety & Security.

Commenting on the appointment, Philip Cox, Chair of Drax, said:

“I am delighted that John is joining the Board. His extensive experience gained in the energy sector, focused on critical operational services at both multi-national and UK based businesses, will strengthen our Board and support Drax as we continue to focus on both growing our capabilities and continuing to deliver operational excellence.”

John added:

“Drax is already one of the leading generators of flexible, low carbon and renewable electricity in the UK. I’m excited to be joining the Board and look forward to further enhancing the business’ operational capabilities and delivering on our purpose of enabling a zero carbon, lower cost energy future.”

John has also been appointed as a member of the Audit, Remuneration and Nomination Committees.

Media contact:

Ali Lewis
Drax Group Head of Media & PR
E: [email protected]
T: 07712670888
Website: www.drax.com/uk

END

‘Billie’, ‘Reggie’ and ‘Scottie’: Robotics in action at energy supplier

Robotics technology is transforming the operations of one of the UK’s biggest business energy suppliers.

The project at [Northampton/Oxford-based] Opus Energy has seen the technology, known as Robotic Process Automation (RPA), introduced for a number of processes within the company’s operations.

One automation running over the Christmas period cleared 20,000 tasks in a matter of days, saving staff at the firm, part of Drax Group, the UK’s biggest renewable electricity supplier to businesses, hours of mundane checking and data entry. It was also carried out at a time when normally staff would not have been available.

Plans are now being developed to rollout the robotic automations further into the firm’s operations. The energy supplier says the aim is to free up staff time to focus on more rewarding and engaging tasks, as well providing service improvements.

So far, six processes at the business have had automation introduced covering credit work, registrations, billing, metering and back office processes, with plans for further automations to be carried out throughout this year.

And the high-tech arrivals have been welcomed into the business by being given nicknames by the teams they work in. ‘Billie’ is now classed as part of the Billing team and is joined by ‘Reggie’ for Customer Registrations and ‘Scottie’ for Change of Tenancy (COT) work.

Ian Blackburn, heading the Intelligent Automation programme at Opus Energy, said: “The feedback from our operational teams has been great. The extra thinking time that RPA is already creating for our people is also really appreciated.

“By using this technology, we can free up their time and allow people to put their skills and expertise to better use and prevent them getting bogged down in more repetitive admin work. We’ll then see the benefit in terms of efficiencies but also in levels of staff motivation.

“We believe our customers will also see the positives in further improvements to our billing and customer services so it’s something that will potentially benefit everyone.”

Jonathan Kini, CEO of Drax Retail, which includes Opus Energy and Haven Power, added: “Innovation is at the heart of everything we do and the energy world is evolving quickly. Data and the way we use it will help our customers change the way they use energy, saving them money in the process and helping make their businesses more sustainable.

“The latest generation of smart meters will produce far better data so the quicker we can process that the better. Our people will then be able to focus on spending more time helping customers rather than data inputting and admin.”

Last year, it was confirmed that Opus Energy and Haven Power together had provided more than 350,000 UK businesses with renewable electricity, a new record which made them collectively the largest suppliers of renewable power to businesses in the UK.

The company is also currently trialling innovative battery storage technology at a farm in Northamptonshire which, if successful, would enable sustainable businesses to store power generated from their own solar panels or wind turbines, and then sell it back to the grid at peak times, providing an additional revenue source.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

Drax Power Station announced last year that it was going to pilot the use of robots in its administrative processes for checking in rail deliveries.

Media contacts:

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

Mark Duffell
MCD Communications Ltd
E: [email protected]
T: 07969 080272

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 six 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/uk

Energy company Drax Group Plc’s People Director, Samantha Brook, has been appointed to the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) Employment & Skills Board and will be contributing to the influential business organisation on its policy and campaigning work around the labour market, education and skills, employment law, employee relations, pay, pensions and health & safety.

Sam Brook said: “This is a great opportunity to play an important part in helping the CBI to enable British businesses everywhere to succeed. I look forward to providing insights from the energy industry to help the CBI to devise and deliver its work plans for the benefit of its members.

“As well as providing valuable insights gained during my own career, I’m looking forward to extending my own knowledge and experience by collaborating with key policy makers and business leaders on important policies and campaigns during this unprecedented time for the UK.”

The CBI is the UK’s most effective business organisation, speaking on behalf of 190,000 businesses of all sizes and sectors, employing nearly 7 million people, about one third of the private sector-employed workforce. It works with policymakers to deliver a healthy environment for businesses to succeed, create jobs and ultimately, drive economic growth and prosperity.

ENDS

Media contacts:

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 six 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/uk

The Taiwanese Ambassador to the UK has visited the country’s largest power station to find out more about how it has transformed itself to become the biggest decarbonisation project in Europe. The visit was organised by Nigel Adams MP who was keen to demonstrate Drax’s innovative focus on renewable energy.

Ambassador David Y.L. Lin of the Taipei Representative Office visited Drax Power Station in Selby, North Yorkshire to meet with Drax Power CEO Andy Koss and MP for Selby and Ainsty, Nigel Adams MP, who explained how Drax, which was once the UK’s largest coal-fired power station and now produces enough renewable electricity to power four million homes.

He and the delegation had a tour of the power station and learned how Drax upgraded four of its six generating units to use sustainable biomass instead of coal to become the UK’s biggest single site renewable power generator.

In 2018, Drax signed up to the government’s Powering Past Coal Alliance, a UK-Canadian initiative which seeks to end the use of coal by 2030 in developed countries as part of efforts to tackle climate change.

Andy Koss, Drax Power CEO, said:

“We know that coal does not have a role to play in a low carbon future. By upgrading two thirds of the power station to run on sustainable biomass, we’re delivering carbon savings of more than 80% compared to coal.

“We want to share some of the engineering knowledge gained from successfully upgrading the power station to use biomass in the hope we can remove more coal from the system globally.”

He added: “We’re committed to reducing carbon emissions further and are piloting Bioenergy Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) technology, which could enable Drax to become the world’s first carbon negative power station.”

Nigel Adams, MP for Selby and Aintsy said:

“Drax is a key economic asset both in Selby and the wider region. It is vital to the local community, directly employing 900 people, supporting 5,700 jobs through its supply chains and generating £600m a year for the northern economy.

“It is looking to the future both in terms of supporting education and skills through community outreach work, as well as exploring opportunities to use new technologies which will enable the power station to innovate and grow.”

Drax is progressing plans for repowering its two remaining coal units with high efficiency gas power generation and battery storage.

It welcomed more than 12,500 visitors to the power station last year. As a member of the Powering Past Coal Alliance, Drax is committed to the development of a low carbon future globally.

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: 07712 677 177

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 six 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/uk

The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) will make a decision about Drax’s proposals to repower its two remaining coal-fired generating units with new, high efficiency gas turbines by Friday October 4, 2019.

The Drax Repower project aims to deliver up to 3.6GW of reliable and flexible power generation and up to 200MW of battery storage to help enable a zero carbon, lower cost energy future.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said last year that by 2050 85% of the world’s electricity will need to come from renewables like wind and solar power if we are to meet our climate change targets. This means the remaining 15% will need to come from flexible and reliable technologies like gas, biomass, hydro and pumped storage.

Andy Koss, Drax Power CEO said:

“By using high efficiency gas turbines we can continue to deliver flexible and reliable generating capacity as well as system support services, which are vital for maintaining secure power supplies as more intermittent renewables come online.

“If the Repower project goes ahead we could stop using coal ahead of the government’s 2025 deadline, protecting jobs and preserving the life of the power station.

“Building modern, high efficiency gas power stations will enable ageing, less efficient plant to close, reducing emissions and supplying the reliable and flexible power needed to provide vital system support services.”

Now the examination phase of the application process has closed, the Examination Authority will consider the evidence given and has three months to make a recommendation to the Secretary of State at BEIS about whether to approve or reject the proposals.

Several other workstreams are running in parallel to the planning application, including site enabling works, to ensure Drax is in the best possible position to progress with its plans should the Repower DCO be approved.

In addition to the 900 people employed directly by Drax at the power station, near Selby in North Yorkshire, in 2017 Drax generated £600m for the northern economy and supported 5,700 jobs in the region.

Download animation

ENDS

Media contacts:

Ali Lewis
Head of News
Drax Group
01757 612165
[email protected]

Jessica Gorton
Press Officer
Drax Group
07712 677177
[email protected]  

Editor’s Notes

Prior to submitting its application for a Development Consent Order, Drax consulted with 264 people at eight public events.

During the Examination phase of the application there have been five public meetings.

The decision by the Secretary of State for BEIS will be published on the Planning Inspectorate’s website.

The Committee on Climate Change and National Grid both say in their forecasts that we can bring new gas generation onto the system and at the same time meet our carbon targets in the 2020s and 2030s.

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 six 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/uk