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The plans would complement Drax’s existing coal-to-biomass conversion which has seen three units repowered to run on sustainable biomass pellets, with a fourth biomass conversion to follow this year.

If the Drax Repower plans go ahead in their entirety, the development would include two combined-cycle gas turbines (CCGTs) with a combined capacity of up to 3,600 megawatts (MW) of electricity as well as battery storage of up to 200MW.

Andy Koss, Drax power CEO said, “We were delighted to welcome Nigel Adams and Jake Berry to Drax. Our repowering project represents a really exciting time for us; 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.

“We hope the Repower project will secure the future of the power station beyond 2025 when the government says coal must come off the system. The North of England has a rich heritage in providing energy to the rest of the UK and Drax has an important role to play in delivering a low carbon economy as the UK comes off coal.”

Drax Power Station employs around 900 people and generated 16% of the country’s renewable electricity in 2016 – enough for four million households, the equivalent of Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield and Liverpool.

Jake Berry, Minister for the Northern Powerhouse and Local Growth, added, “Drax plays a hugely important role in the northern economy and it’s truly impressive how it has continued to innovate in recent years to move away from coal power. I enjoyed learning more about Drax’s gas conversion project and its wider plans to support Britain’s transition to a low carbon future based on an electric economy.”

Nigel Adams, Member of Parliament for Selby & Ainsty, said, “Thousands of jobs in Selby and across Yorkshire directly or indirectly rely on Drax Power Station. Drax’s proposal to convert its remaining coal units to gas to extend the life of the power station comes as welcome news at a time when other power stations in my constituency are closing their doors, with significant consequences for the employees working there.”

Drax Group contributed almost £1.7 billion towards UK GDP in 2016 and supported thousands of jobs across the country, including £577m across the North of England – Yorkshire and Humber, North West, and North East, termed as the ‘Northern Powerhouse Region’.

Andy Koss, Drax Power CEO, said:

“Re-opening the Skipton to Colne route to rail freight as well as passenger travel would have a significant impact for business across the North of England, slashing travel times and increasing productivity in the process.

“It will have a direct impact on improving our supply chain at Drax, allowing freight trains to travel much more quickly to the power station in North Yorkshire – reducing journey times from the Port of Liverpool to less than three hours, a journey which can take up to nine hours at the moment.

“As a nation we can benefit from a fast, efficient railway that allows more free movement of goods between manufacturers, their distribution hubs and their markets across the north of England and beyond.”

Andy Koss, Drax Power CEO said:

“Within the energy sector there are huge opportunities for the north through new energy technologies, such as bioenergy, offshore wind, and nuclear power. To take advantage of these opportunities we need a diverse, well-equipped future workforce with a high level of education and skills in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths subjects.

“At Drax we welcome around 13,000 visitors to the power station each year – many of whom are students, ranging from primary school-age to post-graduates. By bringing energy and engineering to life, we can inspire the next generation, but we also need to give these young people the right support to achieve their ambitions at school and help them get to the next step on their career path through our apprenticeship scheme.”

Read the report: Educating the North: driving ambition across the Powerhouse

Will Gardiner, Chief Executive of Drax Group, said:

“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.

Andy Koss, Drax Power CEO said:

“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 31^st 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 –

Media contacts:

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

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

Notes to editors:

• Drax Group is playing a vital role in helping change the way energy is generated, supplied and used as the UK moves to a low carbon future.
• It is consulting on long-term options to repower up to two coal units to gas, and build battery storage at Drax Power Station.
• It also plans to build and operate four, 299 MW open cycle gas turbine (OCGT) power stations in England and Wales:
• Hirwaun Power, in Wales
• Progress Power, in Suffolk
• Millbrook Power, In Bedfordshire
• Abergelli Power, in Wales
• Find out more at https://www.drax.com/uk/about-us/our-businesses-and-projects/ 

• Independent research by Oxford Economics using 2016 data showed that Drax generated £577m for the Northern Powerhouse regional economy (Yorkshire and Humber, North West and North East) in 2016 and supported more than 6,000 jobs. (Drax Power Station itself employs around 900 people).
• Drax has a longstanding commitment to STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Maths) learning, with around 20,000 educational visits to the power station taking place in 2017. These ranged from primary school to degree level students, with visits tailored to suit the educational level required by the school, college or university.

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