We believe investing in our people goes hand-in-hand with enabling the green energy transformation and positive future growth.
Information about our business, partnerships and campaigns, as well as photos, graphics and multimedia assets for journalists, and educational materials for schools.
We believe investing in our people goes hand-in-hand with enabling the green energy transformation and positive future growth.
Information about our business, partnerships and campaigns, as well as photos, graphics and multimedia assets for journalists, and educational materials for schools.
We’re committed to enabling a zero carbon, lower cost energy future through engineering, technology and innovation.
We’re building for a sustainable future in how we source our biomass, generate energy, remove carbon dioxide and function as a business.
Read our carbon capture, sustainable bioenergy and power generation stories, as well as thinking from Drax’s leaders and business updates.
Drax Group’s ambition is to become a carbon negative business by 2030, through innovative greenhouse gas removal technology.
“Biomass is playing a vital role in decarbonising our electricity system, providing sustainable, reliable low carbon power for millions of homes and businesses. We are pleased the EU Parliament has recognised the important part biomass plays and we look forward to the next stage of the legislative process and further progress on the introduction of robust, workable sustainability criteria.”
Budding engineers can apply for an apprenticeship at Drax through its Technical Apprenticeship Scheme which is now open.
The scheme offers successful candidates the chance to learn a trade, develop new skills and launch their career in engineering at the UK’s biggest power station and the largest decarbonisation project in Europe.
Having upgraded half of the power station from coal to use renewable biomass, nearly 70% of the power produced at Drax Power Station, is now renewable – enough for four million households.
Drax is looking for six technical craft apprentices who will be trained in engineering to work within the maintenance department at Drax Power Station. They will work on new and recently upgraded plant designed to process renewable fuels and the maintenance of the power station.
“For anyone wanting to start their career in engineering, it doesn’t get much better than learning their trade at the UK’s biggest power station.
“It’s an exciting time to join Drax – as well as having upgraded half of the power station to use sustainable biomass, we’re also developing four rapid response gas power projects, exploring options for repowering two of our remaining coal generating units to gas and developing large-scale battery storage.”
He added: “An apprenticeship is a brilliant way to start a career in engineering. We’ve got lots of successful former apprentices working at Drax Power Station – there are engineers, section heads and department managers who all started out as apprentices.
“In order to attract the best people for the roles we hope to appeal to a diverse range of candidates from all backgrounds and would encourage anyone with an interest to apply.”
Tom Glennon-Fell, a third year technical apprentice based at Drax Power Station said: “The Drax Apprenticeship Scheme has given me the best chance to go far and be successful in my career by learning and getting hands on experience at Drax.
“I’m in my third year as an apprentice and really enjoy the variety of work I do, on a day to day basis working with some of the most experienced and knowledgeable people in the power sector.”
The Drax Apprenticeship Training Scheme is a four year programme, with each apprentice spending the first two years training in Loughborough, where travel and accommodation is provided.
In the third and fourth years, apprentices will be primarily based at Drax Power Station, near Selby in North Yorkshire with places available in three engineering disciplines: Mechanical, Electrical and Control & Instrumentation.
Applications for the Technical Apprenticeship Scheme in 2018 are now being accepted and will close on 31st January 2018.
Drax will also be offering other apprenticeships over the course of the year in business support areas, such as Finance and Business Administration. All opportunities are advertised on the website at https://draxgroup.csod.com/ats/careersite/search.aspx?site=7&c=draxgroup&company=draxgroup;draxpower
To find out more about working at Drax, go to https://www.drax.com/uk/careers/
– Ends –
Ali Lewis
Head of News
Drax Group
01757 612165
[email protected]
Jessica Gorton
Press Officer
Drax Group
07712 677177
[email protected]
Drax and STEM Learning
Drax has a longstanding commitment to STEM learning, with around 20,000 educational visits to the power station taking place in 2017. These range from Primary School to degree level, and all visits are tailored to the level of the visiting school, college or university.
To find out more about working at Drax, go to https://www.drax.com/uk/careers/
About Drax Group
Drax Group plc plays a vital role in helping change the way energy is generated, supplied and used as the UK moves to a low carbon future. Drax operates the largest power station in the UK, based at Selby, North Yorkshire and supplies 7 percent of the country’s electricity needs. The energy firm converted from burning coal to become a predominantly biomass-fuelled electricity generator. Drax is the biggest single site renewable generator in the UK and the largest decarbonisation project in Europe. Its 2,300-strong staff operate across three principal areas of activity – electricity generation, electricity sales to business customers and compressed wood pellet production.
The Group includes:
Drax Biomass, based in the US and manufactures compressed wood pellets produced from sustainably managed working forests.
Haven Power, based in Ipswich, providing businesses with electricity.
Opus Energy, based in Oxford, Northampton and Cardiff, providing electricity and gas to businesses.
For more information visit www.drax.com/uk
More events are being held to ensure local people have their say about Drax Power Station’s plans to repower up to two of its remaining coal-fired electricity generating units with gas and install what could be amongst the largest batteries in the world.
Drax’s project team will be on hand at the events to discuss the plans with local people and listen to their views. New images and interactive displays showing what the development will include, as well as an environmental impact report, will also be available.
If the plans go ahead in their entirety, the development would include two combined-cycle gas turbines (CCGTs) which would also be capable of operating as rapid response gas power plants in open-cycle mode, with a combined capacity of up to 3,600 megawatts (MW) of electricity as well as battery storage of up to 200MW.
The exhibitions follow on from similar events held in November and are part of the statutory consultation process required ahead of submitting an application for a Development Consent Order.
“Holding public events to share our ideas with local people is a great way to hear their views. It’s really important to us that we support and work with our local communities – we want people who live and work in the area near the power station to play a part in shaping our thinking for the future. We look forward to sharing our ideas and hearing thoughts.
“The options we’re exploring could reuse some of the existing infrastructure from the remaining coal assets at Drax and extend their operation as gas plant into the 2030s. The Repower project could secure the future of the power station beyond 2025 when the government says coal must come off the system.
“Drax Power Station is a national asset and a significant driver of economic growth in the North of England, generating more than £1/2bn for the northern economy and supporting 6,000 jobs.”
Drax is already the UK’s largest single site renewable power generator having converted three coal generating units to use sustainable wood pellets. More than two thirds of the power produced is now renewable, providing 17% of the UK’s renewable electricity – enough for four million homes.
Mr Koss explained that by upgrading its existing infrastructure to use gas it would provide more capacity, stability and essential grid services keeping costs low for consumers and delivering the government’s commitment to end power generation with unabated coal by 2025.
Leaflets about the project have been sent to homes and businesses in the areas around the power station.
The project’s consultation documents, including the Project’s Preliminary Environmental Information Report, are also available to view at the following locations from 16th January until 27th February 2018, when the statutory consultation period closes:
The options for repowering to gas and building battery storage complement Drax’s ongoing work to explore options for further generation from sustainable biomass and are part of its strategy to play a vital role in changing the way energy is generated as the UK moves to a low carbon future.
Subject to development consent and construction, the project could start generating electricity in 2022/23.
– Ends –
Ali Lewis
Head of News
Drax Group
01757 612165
[email protected]
Jessica Gorton
Press Officer
Drax Group
07712 677177
[email protected]
About the planning regime
The proposed development is a nationally significant infrastructure project (NSIP) under “the construction or extension of a generating station” category in Part 3 Sections 14(1)(a) and 15(2) of the Planning Act 2008 (as amended). As such, Drax is required to seek planning permission known as a Development Consent Order (DCO) from the Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy.
About the Repower Project
Drax’s proposals include the following elements:
About Drax Group
Drax Group plc plays a vital role in helping change the way energy is generated, supplied and used as the UK moves to a low carbon future. Drax operates the largest power station in the UK, based at Selby, North Yorkshire and supplies 7 percent of the country’s electricity needs. The energy firm converted from burning coal to become a predominantly biomass-fuelled electricity generator. Drax is the biggest single site renewable generator in the UK and the largest decarbonisation project in Europe. Its 2,300-strong staff operate across three principal areas of activity – electricity generation, electricity sales to business customers and compressed wood pellet production.
The Group includes:
Drax Biomass, based in the US and manufactures compressed wood pellets produced from sustainably managed working forests.
Haven Power, based in Ipswich, providing businesses with electricity.
Opus Energy, based in Oxford, Northampton and Cardiff, providing electricity and gas to businesses.
For more information visit www.drax.com/uk.
“It’s great to have further clarity from the government about the future for coal and we look forward to working with them and helping to achieve this goal of making the power sector coal free in 2025.
“As we’ve said before, coal doesn’t have a long term role to play in a low carbon future.
We’ve already seen a dramatic fall in power generation from coal – an 84% reduction in the last five years, and a major shift towards lower carbon technologies. At Drax we’re exploring options for repowering our remaining coal units to use sustainable biomass and gas.”
The proposed Open Cycle Gas Turbine (OCGT) power station would produce up to 299 MW of electricity, enough to power the equivalent of about 150,000 homes.
It is intended to be able to be up and running quickly to provide back-up power to the National Grid during periods of peak demand, to support the growing number of renewable and low carbon energy sources.
As a rapid response and flexible power station it would not be operational all the time – it would be producing power for up to a maximum of 2,250 hours in a given year.
The development will contribute millions of pounds of investment into the local economy, create up to 15 full time skilled jobs once operational, and up to 150 jobs during the two-year construction period.
Local people were originally consulted on proposals for the power station in 2014, but the project was put on hold in 2015 due to market uncertainty. The project is now under the new ownership of the British energy company, Drax Group plc, and is once again being taken forward.
Andy Koss, Drax Power CEO, said: “As a result of what was learned during the consultation undertaken in 2014 and other studies, we have made a number of changes to the original proposals. For example, the cable for the electrical connection has been put underground instead of having an overhead line; we have selected an access route from the B4489 to the west of the site, and reduced the number of stacks from five to one.
“We are looking forward to sharing our latest plans at the public exhibitions next month and hearing what local people think about them before we finalise the scheme and submit a Development Consent Order application.”
Abergelli Power Limited is holding public consultation events from 7 February 2018 to 10 February 2018 at Lllangyfelach, Clydach, Tircoed and Felindre. Members of the project team will be on hand to discuss the proposals and consultation process.
The consultation will run from 16 January 2018 until 19 February 2018 and full information about the project, the public exhibitions and the preliminary findings of the environmental impact assessments will be available online on Abergelli Power here.
As the capacity of the power station is over 50 MW, the scheme is classified as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project, which means a Development Consent Order application will need to be submitted to the UK Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, who will make a decision on whether to give the plans the go ahead.
Subject to the public consultation, planning process and market conditions, the power station could be operational in 2022.
ENDS
For further information please contact Clare Jones on 07793382021 or email [email protected]
Notes to the Editor:
About Drax
Drax Group plc plays a vital role in helping change the way energy is generated, supplied and used as the UK moves to a low carbon future. Its 2,300-strong staff operate across three principal areas of activity – electricity generation, electricity sales to business customers and compressed wood pellet production.
The Group includes:
Drax Power Ltd, which operates the largest power station in the UK, based at Selby, North Yorkshire and supplies 7 percent of the country’s electricity needs. The energy firm converted from burning coal to become a predominantly biomass-fuelled electricity generator. Drax is the biggest single site renewable generator in the UK and the largest decarbonisation project in Europe.
Haven Power, based in Ipswich, provides businesses with electricity.
Opus Energy, based in Oxford, Northampton and Cardiff, provides electricity and gas to businesses.
Drax Biomass, is based in the US and manufactures compressed wood pellets produced from sustainably managed working forests.
For more information visit www.drax.com/uk
About the Project
Further information about the Development Consent Order application process can be viewed on the Planning Inspectorate’s website at https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/.
Dates of public exhibitions
Great Britain’s fairy lights and roasted turkeys were powered by the cleanest electricity mix ever on Christmas day 2017 – rounding off a record breaking year for power generation in Britain.
According to analysis of Electric Insights data by researchers at Imperial College London, in collaboration with Drax, 2017 is on course to be the cleanest year for electricity generation.
Carbon emissions from power generation were just 142g/kWh on Christmas Day – more than 10% lower than on December 25 2016.
Gas generators provided over 30% of the required capacity and coal provided just 1.4% on Christmas Day – compared to 17.9% for gas and 7.1% for coal in 2016.
Roasted turkeys were powered by the greenest electricity mix ever in 2017
Dr Iain Staffell of Imperial College London said: “This was achieved in spite of generation from renewables being lower than on Christmas Day last year; mainly due to the continued reduction in coal over this year, being swapped for gas power stations.”
The low carbon Christmas comes after a whole host of renewables records were broken throughout the year and with much less coal on the system, helping to reduce Britain’s carbon emissions by around half of what they were five years ago.
Dr Staffell explained: “The carbon intensity of Britain’s electricity halved between 2012 and 2016 and we think that by New Year the 2017 figure will be at least another 10% lower than last year’s record. This means the average British household produced 100 kg less CO2 this year than they did last year without having to lift a finger, all the changes are being made ‘behind the scenes’.”
Electric Insights data also shows that January 17 2017 was the ‘dirtiest’ day of the year, with carbon intensity reaching 398g CO2/kWh. Despite this, Britain’s carbon emissions have fallen sharply as renewables records were broken throughout the year.
Dr Staffell said: “Several real milestones were reached by renewable electricity throughout 2017 – we set a new record in March for renewable generation, which was then broken again in June.
“It helped that wind speeds were relatively high during the year, so wind farm output was up by around one third compared to last year. Also, electricity demand was a little lower, meaning that renewable output formed a bigger part of the mix.”
Andy Koss, Drax Power CEO said: “Britain’s energy system is rapidly changing, as the Carbon Price Floor continues to force coal off the system and gas and renewables play an increasingly important role in helping to reduce carbon emissions – all year round.
“At Drax we have upgraded half of the power station to run on flexible, reliable, sustainable biomass. Around 70% of the power we produce is now renewable – enough for four million households.
“We are also looking at repowering two of our remaining coal generating units with gas to provide up to 3.6GW of power and developing up to 200MW of battery storage.
“With the four rapid response gas power stations we are developing, which will help to support the system and enable more renewables onto the grid, here at Drax we are playing an important part in helping to change the way energy is generated, supplied and used for a better future.”
ENDS
Ali Lewis
Drax Group Head of Media Relations
T: 01757 612165
Data from Electric Insights comparing demand, emissions and generation on Christmas day in 2016 and 2017 – these are averages of both Christmas Days not totals:
| Christmas Day 2016 | Christmas Day 2017 | |
|---|---|---|
| Demand (GW) | 29.5 | 29 |
| Emissions (g/KWh) | 160 | 142 |
| Temperature (Celsius) | 10.2 | 9.7 |
| Coal (GW) | 2.1 | 0.4 |
| Gas (GW) | 5.3 | 8.8 |
| Solar (GW) | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| Wind (GW) | 9.4 | 8.4 |
| Hydro (GW) | 0.8 | 0.7 |
| Imports and storage (GW) | 1.8 | 2.9 |
| Biomass (GW) | 2 | 0.8 |
| Nuclear (GW) | 8.4 | 7.7 |
Previous analysis of data from Electric Insights revealed that four years ago, Britain sat in the middle of the ‘Low Carbon Electricity League’. Britain now ranks 7th in the world, following a 47% drop in emissions last year.
Electricity generation in the UK is playing a vital role in the reduction of carbon emissions, enabling other sectors like transport to become greener. Fewer fossil fuels on the system means electric vehicles are greener than ever before .
The electricity sector has many accounting conventions to be aware of. Power flow is measured in gigawatts (GW), volumes of energy are measured in megawatt-hours (MWh). Producing 1 GW constantly for an hour would give 1 GWh = 1000 MWh. Producing 1 GW constantly for a year would give 8760 GWh, which is enough to power 2.65 million homes.
Drax Group plc plays a vital role in helping change the way energy is generated, supplied and used as the UK moves to a low carbon future. Its 2,300-strong staff operate across three principal areas of activity – electricity generation, electricity sales to business customers and compressed wood pellet production.
The Group includes:
Drax Power Ltd, which operates the largest power station in the UK, based at Selby, North Yorkshire and supplies 7 percent of the country’s electricity needs. The energy firm converted from burning coal to become a predominantly biomass-fuelled electricity generator. Drax is the biggest single site renewable generator in the UK and the largest decarbonisation project in Europe.
Haven Power, based in Ipswich, provides businesses with electricity.
Opus Energy, based in Oxford, Northampton and Cardiff, provides electricity and gas to businesses.
Drax Biomass, is based in the US and manufactures compressed wood pellets produced from sustainably managed working forests.
For more information visit www.drax.com/uk
The application had been submitted on 23rd October 2017.
The application is for development consent to construct, operate and maintain a gas fired peaking power generation plant of up to 299 Megawatts (MW) and associated electrical and gas connections on land at the former clay extraction pit, Rookery South, near Stewartby in Bedfordshire.
A copy of the application form and its accompanying documents, plans and maps (including the draft DCO and the Environmental Statement) are available until Friday 19th January 2018 for inspection free of charge at the following places:
The application form and its accompanying documents, plans and maps are also available to view online through the Planning Inspectorate’s website and on a dedicated page of the Millbrook Power website.
Organisations and/or individuals who wish to register a representation and interest in the examination process that will take place next year (the details and dates of the examination process have yet to be confirmed) can do so via the Planning Inspectorate’s website, giving notice of any interest in, or objection to, the application.
Please note that representations or responses must be received by the Planning Inspectorate by 11.59pm on Friday 19thJanuary 2018. All representations will be made public by the Planning Inspectorate.
A formal notice explaining that the project has been accepted for examination, where the application documents can be inspected and how people can make a representation has been published in local and national newspapers and placed at various locations around the Site. This notice complies with Section 56 of the Planning Act 2008 and a copy of the notice can be found in the documents section of this website.
Further information on the application can be obtained by visiting https://www.drax.com/uk/about-us/our-projects/millbrook-power/ or by contacting Millbrook Power on 0131 550 3380 or via [email protected].
“Cleaner economic growth is one of the greatest industrial opportunities of our time – with the UK’s clean economy predicted to grow at four times the rate of GDP.
“Reducing carbon in electricity generation is the fastest way to reduce emissions and ensure our economy is clean and strong. Electric cars, AI and automation all depend on a flexible, secure electricity system, which sustainable biomass and rapid response gas power stations can support.
“At Drax we are already helping growing businesses be more sustainable – the proportion of businesses choosing to use renewable electricity supplied by Haven Power, part of Drax Group, has more than tripled this year, reducing their carbon emissions by 76% compared to five years ago and saving the UK almost 1.5 million tonnes of carbon.”
“The Industrial Strategy highlights that there is a technological revolution underway which will be powered by electricity.
“The Northern Powerhouse region is well placed to lead the clean energy revolution, because it has the expertise, knowledge, skills and infrastructure to deliver clean growth based on decades of powering the rest of the country.
“Creating bespoke regional industrial strategies which can draw on skills and strengths available in areas like the north, will help us to maximise the opportunities and deliver real growth.
“The Northern Powerhouse region has been leading the way in new technologies such as bioenergy, offshore wind and nuclear power, and Drax alone generated £577 million for the Northern Powerhouse regional economy, supporting more than 6,000 jobs in the region in 2016.”
