The donation will be used to fund two industrial fans that will cool the arena during the warmer months.
Drax has partnered with the Scenic Rivers Alliance to install the fans in the Liberty Arena. The Scenic Rivers Alliance took over management of the arena in July of 2021, and they have continued to enhance and improve the arena and surrounding park since that time.
Angela Harvey, Scenic Rivers Alliance Director of Administration, said: “We have continued to put our all into the arena and the surrounding park. We want it to be a place that everyone in the community and surrounding counties can enjoy, from the campground to the ball fields, to the arena. There is truly something for everyone of every age to enjoy.
“Scenic Rivers strives to promote natural resources in southwest Mississippi, and now that Ethel Stratton Vance Park is under our direction, we can extend our knowledge of this great park to more people. Drax’s donation of the industrial fans will only push us closer to our goals and allow us to use the arena year-round for more community involvement we have planned for the upcoming year.”
The arena is a multipurpose use site for Liberty and the surrounding communities, holding county fairs, car shows, Boy Scout and Girl Scout outings, Amite County Heritage Days, and numerous fundraising and charity events.
Executive Vice President of Drax’s Pellet Operations, Matt White, said: “Drax is excited to support the Scenic Rivers Alliance and their work to reinvigorate Ethel Stratton Vance Park. We hope that these arena fans will encourage and support a wide array of community events, marking the beginning of a new partnership. Our ambition is to help renovate the trails and bridges within the park forest, encouraging the community to explore and connect with the abundant natural resources all around them.”
The Scenic Rivers Alliance is an organization dedicated to promoting events and outdoor activities in Southwest Mississippi.
Pat Talbert, Mayor of Liberty, said: “As the only park with a covered equestrian arena in the area, we have a responsibility to the surrounding communities. We have to continue with our improvements to provide the best possible experience for everyone. We plan to update the campgrounds to provide another exciting activity, and hopefully in the future, we can construct a small lake that would allow for bank fishing. The possibilities for the park are endless, and I cannot wait for what we have in store for our communities in the future.”
Kay Campbell, Drax Lead Procurement Forester, said: “As a life-long resident of Amite County, I am very proud of our company’s contributions to such a valuable asset in our local area. My grandchildren have been to a range of different events and activities there recently and so my family knows firsthand how important The Ethel Stratton Vance Park is.”
Drax is committed to supporting the communities local to its operations and is this year drawing up plans for a more targeted community spend.
In 2021, Drax supported education and skills in Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and Alabama and provided donations to help communities hit by natural disasters and Covid and work to support sustainable forestry.
In Mississippi, support included a Christmas toy drive and renovating a local baseball field.
ENDS
Pic caption 1: Kay Campbell, Drax Lead Procurement Forester and family at the Ethel Stratton Vance Park Arena
Media contacts:
Megan Hopgood
Communications Officer
E: [email protected]
T: 07936 350 175
Editor’s Notes
- Through its operations in Louisiana and Mississippi, Drax supports more than 1,200 jobs and contributes $175m to the region’s economy.
- This includes more than 1,200 jobs in Louisiana and Mississippi with 300 direct jobs across these two states in Drax’s three pellet mills and at the port of Greater Baton Rouge.
- Drax’s pellet mills also support the wider supply chain of loggers, truckers, railway workers, port workers and other logistics professionals.
About Drax
Drax Group’s purpose is to enable a zero carbon, lower cost energy future and in 2019 announced a world-leading ambition to be carbon negative by 2030, using bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) technology.
Drax’s around 3,000 employees operate across three principal areas of activity – electricity generation, electricity sales to business customers and compressed wood pellet production and supply to third parties. For more information visit www.drax.com
Power generation:
Drax owns and operates a portfolio of renewable electricity generation assets in England and Scotland. 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 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. It is also where Drax is piloting the groundbreaking negative emissions technology BECCS within its CCUS (Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage) Incubation Area.
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.
The Group also aims to build on its BECCS innovation at Drax Power Station with a target to deliver 4 million tonnes of negative CO2 emissions each year from new-build BECCS outside of the UK by 2030 and is currently developing models for North American and European markets.
Pellet production and supply:
The Group has 18 operational pellet plants and developments with nameplate production capacity of around 5 million tonnes a year.
Drax is targeting 8 million tonnes of production capacity by 2030, which will require the development of over 3 million tonnes of new biomass pellet production capacity. The pellets are produced using materials sourced from sustainably managed working forests and are supplied to third party customers in Europe and Asia for the generation of renewable power.
Drax’s pellet plants supply biomass used at its own power station in North Yorkshire, England to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses, and also to customers in Europe and Asia.
Customers:
Drax supplies renewable electricity to UK businesses, offering a range of energy-related services including energy optimisation, as well as electric vehicle strategy and management.
To find out more go to the website www.energy.drax.com
