Essential maintenance has been carried out on one of our coal generating units as is usual during the spring and summer months when demand is lower, and the coal units are not required to run. Following the completion of this work we need to make sure the unit is performing well, ready for the winter when demand for power increases and the coal units are expected to run. As a result, tests are being carried out now which require the unit to generate power.
Ends
Notes to editors
- Drax has announced it will stop generating power using coal in March 2021, well ahead of the government’s 2025 deadline.
- The power station’s transformation from coal to converting two-thirds of its units to using sustainably sourced biomass wood pellets is Europe’s largest decarbonisation project.
- Drax has set a commitment to become carbon negative by 2030 through pioneering bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) technology.
- A BECCS pilot at the power station is already capturing a tonne of carbon dioxide a day.
