Archives: Press Release

Drax Biomass donates $30,000 to help communities affected by COVID-19 and Easter tornadoes

15 April 2020

Press releases
A house in West Monroe damaged by tornadoes over the Easter weekend. Credit: Facebook.

The funds donated include $20,000 from Drax Biomass to Covid-related relief efforts in Ouachita, Morehouse and LaSalle Parishes in Louisiana and Amite County in Mississippi as well as $10,000 to help communities hit by the tornadoes in the Monroe and West Monroe area.

Matt White, SVP Drax Biomass.

Matt White, Drax Biomass Senior Vice President, said:

“The tornadoes experienced by communities across the region in recent days have been devastating and they come at a difficult time as we are all dealing with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s important to support the people and businesses in the areas where we operate and that’s why we’re donating $30,000 to help local relief efforts. Our thoughts are with all of those affected by these events.”

Headquartered in Monroe, LA, with operations in the Southeastern U.S., Drax Biomass is committed to supporting the communities in which it operates by promoting sustainable forestry and investing in local economic development. It is part of Drax Group.

Drax Biomass produces sustainable compressed wood pellets, which are shipped to Drax Power Station in England and used to generate renewable electricity for millions of UK homes and businesses.

Around two thirds of the sustainable biomass Drax uses each year comes from the US, where Drax owns and operates three pellet plants producing compressed wood pellets sourced from sustainably managed working forests in Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi.

The plants also deliver economic growth and jobs in the US south.

“We’ve worked hard to keep our pellet plants operating, while keeping people safe,” White said. “The safety and wellbeing of our employees is paramount, and we have processes in place to ensure people are working safely. We are also in contact with our partners throughout our supply chains to ensure they are doing the same.”

Editor’s notes:

  • Drax Biomass is directing $20,000 this month to community Covid-19 relief efforts to Louisiana parishes Ouachita, Morehouse and LaSalle and Amite County in Mississippi.
  • Focus areas include Food Banks, United Way, Salvation Army, Rays of Sonshine, The Wellspring, Ouachita Council on Aging, West Ouachita Senior Center, Ronald McDonald House, The Children’s Coalition, Liberty Community Living Center, Wilkinson County Nursing Center, Field Health System, St. Francis Medical Center, Hardtner Medical Center, Morehouse General Hospital, Care and Hope Ministry and the Morehouse United Fund.
  • Drax is also donating $10,000 to tornado relief efforts in the Monroe/West Monroe area.
  • The UK government has identified biomass and related infrastructure, logistics and workers as being critical, as have the US federal government and most state and local authorities. This includes the infrastructure and logistics related to the transportation of biomass to the power station, such as ports and rail.
  • The pellets are sent by rail and truck from the plants in Louisiana and Mississippi to Drax’s Baton Rouge export facility before being loaded onto ships for their transatlantic journey.
  • In April, Drax received and unloaded its 100th shipment of sustainable biomass from Baton Rouge.
  • Sustainable biomass is an important part of the UK’s long-term energy mix. Using sustainable biomass instead of coal at Drax Power Station has already delivered carbon savings of more than 80% and made Drax Europe’s largest decarbonization project.

Top image caption: A house in West Monroe damaged by tornadoes over the Easter weekend. Credit: Facebook.

Media Contact:

Annmarie Sartor
Communications officer
T: 318-801-0046
E: [email protected]

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. Its 2,900-strong employees operate across three principal areas of activity – electricity generation, electricity sales to business customers and compressed wood pellet production.

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.

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 five 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.

Customers:  

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.

For more information visit www.drax.com

Drax receives 100th biomass cargo from dedicated US export facility

6 April 2020

Press releases
Vessel loading sustainable biomass at Drax’s Baton Rouge export facility in the US
  • Landmark shipment of biomass delivered as Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire continues to generate the electricity the UK needs during the Covid-19 crisis
  • Vessel arrives in the UK on the 5th anniversary of the start of operations at a dedicated biomass export facility in the US South

The Port of Greater Baton Rouge is the final deepwater port on the Mississippi River and the closest to Drax’s three pellet plants in the US South. In 2015, Drax completed work on its export facility at the port to process and ship biomass to its power station in the UK.

Ultrabulk’s MV Ultra Jaguar vessel carried 62,846 tonnes of sustainable biomass from Baton Rouge to the UK for Drax. The cargo is enough fuel to generate electricity for around 1.3 million homes.

The landmark shipment, which arrived at ABP’s Port of Immingham on March 25, will help Drax to continue to produce the electricity the UK needs during the Covid-19 crisis.

Will Gardiner, Drax Group CEO said:

“We’re very proud of what Drax has achieved since we started using sustainable biomass instead of coal at the power station – by developing a global supply chain for sustainable biomass, our operations support thousands of jobs and have delivered economic growth across the North of England and in the US South.

“Maintaining our supply chain so we can continue to generate the renewable electricity the country needs is all the more important right now as we continue to play a critical role in producing power to help the fight against Covid-19. Our teams are working around the clock to keep generating the power the country needs.”

Baton Rouge Transit has shipped over 5 million tonnes of sustainable biomass to ports on the UK’s east and west coast in the five years since the first vessel was dispatched on April 6th 2015.

Once in the UK, the wood pellets are loaded on to bespoke biomass freight trains bound for Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire, where they are used to generate the renewable electricity that millions of UK homes and businesses rely on.

Drax Biomass Senior Vice President Matt White said:

“In the past five years, the team here at Drax’s Baton Rouge facility has gone from loading its first vessel with 20,000 tonnes of sustainable wood pellets, to the 100th vessel, which loaded almost 63,000 tonnes. The team did this while achieving an industry-leading safety record, underscoring its focus and commitment to the wellbeing of our employees.

“We will continue to work around the clock to maintain consistent and reliable deliveries of sustainable biomass to Drax Power Station – a critical national asset which supplies 12% of the UK’s renewable power. This is especially important during the ongoing Covid-19 crisis. We have plans and processes in place to ensure our key workers can continue to carry out their vitally important roles safely during the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Drax is working closely with its suppliers in North America and Europe, as well as partners in the rail freight sector and at port facilities in the US and UK to maintain a resilient supply chain amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The UK government has identified Drax as critical national infrastructure. This includes the infrastructure and logistics related to the transportation of biomass to the power station, such as ports and rail. The US federal government and most state and local authorities have made similar designations relating to biomass.

Around two thirds of the 7.5 million tonnes of sustainable biomass Drax uses each year comes from the US, where Drax owns and operates three pellet mills producing compressed wood pellets sourced from sustainably managed working forests in Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi.

The pellets are sent by rail and truck from the plants in Louisiana and Mississippi to Drax’s Baton Rouge facility before being loaded onto ships for their transatlantic journey.

Vessel loading sustainable biomass at Drax’s Baton Rouge export facility in the US

Drax’s operations support around 5,700 jobs throughout its supply chains across the North of England and help to generate £600m per year for the region’s economy.

Earlier in March, Drax received and unloaded the largest ever shipment of sustainable biomass from Baton Rouge as part of its regular supply chain deliveries.

In addition to its own wood pellet production, Drax also has agreements with a number of other suppliers in the US and elsewhere around the world including in Canada, the Baltics and Portugal as well as multiple trading relationships. This gives the energy company greater flexibility in sourcing sustainable biomass.

ENDS

Media contacts

Ali Lewis
Drax Group Head of Media & PR
E: [email protected]
T: 07712 670 888

Selina Williams
Drax Group Media Manager
E: [email protected]
T: 07912 230 393

Annmarie Sartor
Communications Officer – United States
E: [email protected]
T: +1 318-801-0046

Editor’s Notes

  • Baton Rouge Transit is operated by Host Terminals and has the capacity to process 2.4 million tonnes of sustainable biomass a year.
  • The 100th cargo completed loading at the port of Baton Rouge in Louisiana on March 6 and arrived at Associated British Ports Immingham Renewable Fuels Terminal on the UK’s east coast on March 25.
  • Immingham Renewable Fuels Terminal on the UK’s east coast is part of Drax’s network of port and rail infrastructure that runs from coast to coast and includes capacity at the Port of Tyne, Hull and Liverpool.
  • Having import capacity at both east and west coast ports adds extra security and resilience to Drax’s supply chain and operations.
  • Sustainable biomass is an important part of the UK’s long-term energy mix. Using sustainable biomass instead of coal at Drax Power Station has already delivered carbon savings of more than 80% and made Drax Europe’s largest decarbonisation project.
  • Caption for main photo: Biomass wood pellet vessel at Port of Greater Baton Rouge in Louisiana [Click to view/download]

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.

Its 2,900-strong employees 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 five 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.

Customers:  

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/us

Drax’s largest biomass shipment arrives at the UK’s biggest biomass handling facility

20 March 2020

Press releases
Immingham Port at night

The Zheng Zhi bulk carrier vessel transported 63,907 tonnes of Drax’s sustainable biomass from the US port of Baton Rouge in Louisiana. The consignment supplies Drax Power Station with enough fuel to generate electricity for 1.3 million homes.

The vessel berthed at Humber International Terminal in the port of Immingham – ABP’s largest terminal, on Friday March 13th.

Simon Bird, Director of ABP Humber, said:

“Our colleagues here on the Humber are working hard to keep our homes powered, our stores stocked and keeping Britain trading. A huge thank you is deserved for all those working through this time.

“ABP is working around the clock to ensure the wellbeing of employees and customers and the safe continuation of operations.”

Andy Koss Drax CEO Generation said:

“Drax Power Station is critical national infrastructure at the heart of the UK’s energy system and we take this responsibility very seriously, especially now amid the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) situation. We are doing everything we can to ensure that we maintain a continuous, stable and reliable electricity supply for millions of homes and businesses in the UK.

“This shipment of sustainable biomass from our pellet mills in the US – the largest yet – highlights the critical role played by infrastructure such as the ports and rail in our supply chain.”

The Zheng Zhi bulk carrier arriving at ABP Immingham. Its cargo of sustainable biomass wood pellets is destined for Drax Power Station -- the UK's biggest renewable power station.

The Zheng Zhi bulk carrier arriving at ABP Immingham. Its cargo of sustainable biomass wood pellets is destined for Drax Power Station — the UK’s biggest renewable power station. Credit: ABP [Click to view/download]

Over the last decade Drax has converted four of the power station’s six generating units to use sustainable biomass instead of coal. This has transformed Drax, which supplies 5% of the country’s electricity, into the country’s largest renewable power generator and the biggest decarbonisation project in Europe.

Humber International Terminal employs over 100 people and is the world’s largest biomass handling facility. The terminal is part of the Humber ports that have been working hard, 24 hours a day, in keeping Britain trading.

The Port of Immingham is a vital resource and powers one in ten homes in the U.K.

ENDS

Media contacts: 

Selina Williams
Drax Group Media Manager
E: [email protected]
T: 07912230393

Aidan Kerr
Media Manager – Generation
E: [email protected]
T: 07849090368

Annmarie Sartor
Communications Officer – United States
E: [email protected]
T: +1 318-801-0046

Editor’s Notes

  • The vessel completed loading at the port of Baton Rouge in Louisiana February 23. A cargo typically takes around 17 to 21 days to reach the UK.
  • This vessel is Drax’s 99th ship from its facility at the Port of Greater Baton Rouge. Drax has shipped 5.1 million tonnes from the Louisiana port on the Mississippi River since 2015.
  • Immingham on the UK’s east cost is Drax’s largest import terminal and is part of a supply chain that runs from coast to coast, including capacity at Tyne, Hull and Liverpool.
  • Having import capacity at both the east and west coast adds extra security and resilience to Drax’s supply chain and operations.
  • The vessel is carrying sustainable biomass from Drax’s three pellet mills in the US South, which manufacture wood pellets from sustainably managed forests.
  • Sustainable biomass is an important part of the UK’s long-term energy mix. Using sustainable biomass instead of coal at Drax Power Station has already delivered carbon savings of more than 80% and made Drax Europe’s largest decarbonisation project.
  • The latest Zheng Zhi biomass cargo breaks the previous record of 63,557 tonnes.
  • Video B-Roll of ABP’s biomass operations with Drax at Immingham can be downloaded for broadcast use here.
  • Captions for high resolution photos:
  • Additional photos from Louisiana:

About ABP 

ABP is the UK’s leading ports operator with 21 ports and other transport related businesses creating a unique national network capable of handling a vast array of cargo.

The company contributes £7.5 billion to the UK economy every year and supports 119,000 jobs. Our current investment programme promises to deliver an extra £1.75 billion for the economy every year.

ABP:

  • Handles over 1.5 million vehicles every year
  • Generates around one quarter of the UK’s rail freight
  • Has 1.4 million square metres of covered storage
  • Has 1,000 hectares of open storage
  • Handles around 90 million tonnes of cargo each year
  • Owns 5,000 hectares of port estate
  • Has 87km of quay

Our five-year investment programme across the group is worth £1 billion. Our investment is designed to respond to the needs of our customers whose business relies on our ports for access to international and, in some cases, domestic markets.

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.

Its 2,900-strong employees 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 five 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.

Customers:  

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/us

Drax achieves industry-leading safety record

3 March 2020

Press releases

Drax achieved an industry-leading safety record during 2019 with Morehouse BioEnergy, one of its compressed wood pellet plants located in Bastrop, surpassing the two-year mark with no recordable safety incidents. At its port operation in Baton Rouge, the company has achieved five and a half years with no lost time or recordable injuries.

“We are proud to have achieved these safety milestones which are a testament to an ever-growing focus, mindset and culture built around operating safely,” said Matt White, Senior Vice President of Drax Biomass. “The safety of our employees, vendors and suppliers is priority one at Drax, and we continually evaluate, train and hone our processes and procedures to create an environment that is conducive to success.”

Morehouse BioEnergy

Key Facts

  • For 2019 in the US, the Drax TRIR (total recordable incident rate) was .42 while its OSHA RI (Occupational Safety and Health Administration Recordable Incident) rate was .92.
  • The 2017 average OSHA RI rate for our industry was 3.0. https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshsum.htm
  • Drax is a subsidiary of Drax Group, plc, which is enabling a zero carbon, lower cost energy future.
  • Drax operates three compressed wood pellet plants – Morehouse Bioenergy in Bastrop, LA; LaSalle Bioenergy in Urania, LA; and Amite Bioenergy in Gloster, MS.
  • The company ships its pellets to the UK and manages a port operation at the Port of Greater Baton Rouge.

About Drax Biomass

Drax Biomass Inc. is a manufacturer of compressed wood pellets produced from sustainably managed working forests. Headquartered in Monroe, LA, with operations in the Southeastern U.S., the company is committed to supporting the communities in which we operate by promoting sustainable forestry and investing in local economic development.

Media Contact:

Annmarie Sartor

[email protected]

Drax’s new biomass policy paves the way for world-leading sustainability standard

24 January 2020

Press releases
Working Forests in the US South

An Independent Advisory Board (IAB), led by former UK government chief scientific adviser Sir John Beddington, was appointed by Drax in October when it published a strengthened sourcing policy to ensure the biomass it uses to produce 12% of Britain’s renewable electricity meets the highest sustainability standards.

In its first report the IAB has found that Drax’s sustainable biomass sourcing reflects the recommendations made by Forest Research – the research agency of the Forestry Commission, which is widely considered to be the industry gold standard.

Drax Group CEO Will Gardiner said:

“The work of the IAB is vital in guiding and challenging us to be as sustainable and transparent as we can be. I am reassured to know that our existing policies reflect the Forestry Commission’s recommendations and we’ll continue to work with the Board to strive for greater excellence across our operations.

“We recently announced our ambition to become the world’s first carbon negative company by using sustainable biomass with carbon capture and storage technology. To achieve this, we need to go further in our efforts to lead the world on biomass sustainability standards, positively contributing to our climate, the environment and the communities in which we operate.”

The IAB also recommended consideration is given to a review of existing evidence on sustainable biomass to advance understanding among academics, policy makers and environmental groups.

Such a “restatement of evidence” would be aimed at fostering agreement amongst scientists and environmental groups on the role of sustainable biomass, sharing information with third parties on Drax’s operations and using scientific evidence to identify points of agreement, disagreement and areas which need further study.

The IAB’s chair John Beddington said:

“It’s a complex area to navigate and if some common ground based on the scientific evidence can be agreed, it creates a framework to help ensure the right types of biomass are used which make the greatest contribution towards addressing the climate emergency.”

The UK’s Committee on Climate Change has said that biomass will play a critical role in achieving the UK’s 2050 net zero target.

The IAB, which meets twice a year, will produce a written report of its conclusions and recommendations for Drax after its meetings and a summary of these will be published on the Drax website. The IAB held its first meeting on November 15, 2019.

ENDS

Media contacts

Ali Lewis
Drax Group Head of Media & PR
[email protected]
07712 670 888

Editor’s Notes

Forest Research (2018) Biomass Carbon Impacts, report for the European Climate Foundation has been cited by a number of organisations including the UK Committee on Climate Change in its Biomass in a Low Carbon Economy report.

Drax set up the IAB in 2019 alongside its new strengthened biomass sustainability policy, which goes beyond existing regulations, to ensure the company’s biomass sourcing continues to improve with the latest science and best practice.

The “restatement of the evidence” the IAB has suggested is an independently run process based on input from scientists with varying points of view, consultation with industry, non-governmental organisations and policy makers.

Sir John Beddington also said in his letter to Drax that the board wanted to explore how science regarding the use of early thinnings and small roundwood can further develop. Drax has initiated a programme of independent analysis on the environmental and economic impacts in the areas where it sources its wood. It will be sharing this with the IAB for its scrutiny and insight.

The IAB acts as a forum for engagement between sustainable biomass experts and Drax and is tasked to advise and give feedback on feedstock options, sourcing decisions, procurement practices, forest science and forest carbon science.

The IAB also advises on the role of biomass in Drax’s climate change mitigation activities and in supporting the transition to a net zero energy system, as well as providing insight on society’s expectations for responsible and sustainable biomass.

  • Members of Drax’s Independent Advisory Board are:
    • Professor Sir John Beddington (Chair) – former UK Government Chief Scientific Adviser
    • Professor Lord John Krebs (Vice Chair) – Emeritus Professor of Zoology, University of Oxford and crossbench member of the House of Lords
    • Virginia Dale – Adjunct Professor, University of Tennessee
    • Professor Sam Fankhauser – Director of the LSE Grantham Institute
    • Elena Schmidt – Standards Director, Roundtable on Sustainable Biomass
    • Forest Research (Ex-Officio) – A representative from Forest Research, the UK’s primary organisation for forest science will also join the Board in an ex-officio capacity
  • The Board provides independent advice to Drax on:
    • The role of biomass in Drax’s climate change mitigation activities and in supporting the transition to a net zero energy system
    • Feedstock options, sourcing decisions, forest science, forest carbon science and how Drax can optimise carbon impacts
    • Procurement practices
    • Societal expectations for responsible and sustainable biomass
    • And gives feedback and recommendations on Drax’s sustainable biomass approach and performance
  • More information on the Board can be found here
  • Drax’s biomass sourcing policy has four key commitments:
    • To reduce CO2 emissions
    • To protect the natural environment
    • To support people and communities
    • To carry out research, outreach and intervention
  • More information on Drax’s biomass sourcing policy can be found here
  • In December, Drax published the first in a series of independent reports on the environmental and economic impacts in the areas where it sources its wood.
  • Hood Consulting’s report highlighted the positive role the Amite Bioenergy pellet plant has had in the region supporting the health of western Mississippi’s forests and its economy.

About Drax

Drax Group’s purpose is to enable a zero carbon, lower cost energy future. Its 2,900-strong employees 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 five 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.

Customers:  

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/us

Trafford College visits Europe’s biggest carbon saving project

10 January 2020

Press releases
Trafford College visit to Drax

The group of 23 students aged between 18 and 25, visited Drax Power Station, near Selby in North Yorkshire, which has upgraded two thirds of its generating capacity to use compressed wood pellets in place of coal.

This has transformed the plant to become the UK’s largest renewable power generator – producing enough electricity for four million homes – and Europe’s biggest decarbonisation project.

It has also paved the way for Drax to pioneer ground-breaking bio energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) technology. If BECCS can be used across all four of its biomass generating units, Drax could become the world’s first negative emissions power station, helping it to make an even greater contribution towards tackling the climate emergency.

Students were taken on a full tour of the site including the innovative BECCS pilot plant which is capturing a tonne of CO2 each day, the 427-metre turbine hall that houses the six huge turbines which power the generators to produce electricity.

They also enjoyed a close-up view of the UK’s first wood pellet storage domes, each large enough to fit The Royal Albert Hall inside, and the 12 cooling towers, which at 115 metres high are taller than the Statue of Liberty.

Drax Group’s Head of Business Sustainability, Vicky Bullivant, said:

“By providing tours at Drax Power Station we want to further students’ understanding of how electricity is produced and hopefully fire their imaginations and inspire them to study STEM subjects by showing them some of the pioneering technologies we’re trying, like BECCS, which could play a vital role in addressing the climate crisis.”

During the tour, pupils learnt how renewable electricity is generated and discovered how sustainable, compressed wood pellets have enabled Drax to reduce its carbon emissions by more than 80% compared to when those generating units used coal.

Bertin Speaks, from Trafford College, who organised the visit, said:

“The students had a great day at Drax, learning about how the electricity system works and where our electricity is generated. Visits like this are so valuable because seeing the power station and the scale of the operations is impossible to replicate in a classroom – it really brings the subject to life.”

Drax has a long tradition of supporting education and helping to inspire the engineers of the future by encouraging greater interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects. Last year it invested £35,000 in the GreenPower initiative involving seven local schools and colleges in building and racing electric vehicles.

The Trafford College students are among over 12,000 visitors to Drax every year. Tours are free to all primary and secondary schools and can be tailored to suit the area of the curriculum teachers are interested in.

For further information on school tours at Drax visit the website at www.drax.com/us.

Image Caption: Trafford College outside the Biomass domes at Drax Power Station.

ENDS

Media contacts:

Ali Lewis
Drax Group Head of Media & PR
[email protected]
07712 670 888

Selina Williams
Drax Group Media Manager
[email protected]
07912230393

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 five 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.

Customers:  

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/us

Companies meet to discuss negative emissions ambitions

Press releases
Drax CCUS incubation area

In August 2019 Velocys’ subsidiary Altalto Immingham Limited, a collaboration with British Airways and Shell, submitted plans for Europe’s first commercial waste-to-jet-fuel plant near Immingham on the South Bank of the Humber. The company has since voiced its support for the Zero Carbon Humber campaign, which is seeking to develop a large-scale carbon dioxide transport and storage network in the Humber that would significantly reduce emissions and create new job opportunities for the region.

Dr Neville Hargreaves, VP Waste to Fuels, Velocys, said:

“Subject to planning consent and financing, our Altalto Immingham project could be producing sustainable aviation fuel as soon as 2024. Velocys has a robust technological solution for this challenging sector which addresses one of the hardest sectors to decarbonise and can help the UK meet its net zero target.”

“Furthermore, we’ll also produce a capture-ready stream of carbon dioxide, and thus a transport and storage network in the Humber would allow us to make negative emission fuels, delivering a further environmental benefit.”

Steve Drayton (Director of Innovation, Drax),  Dr Neville Hargreaves (VP Waste to Fuels, Velocys), Brian Greensmith (Drax), Richard Gwilliam (Drax), Martin Hopkins (Velocys)

Steve Drayton (Director of Innovation, Drax),  Dr Neville Hargreaves (VP Waste to Fuels, Velocys), Brian Greensmith (Drax), Richard Gwilliam (Drax), Martin Hopkins (Velocys)

Steve Drayton, Director of Innovation at Drax said:

“There are some interesting synergies between our ambitions at Drax to become the world’s first carbon negative company and Velocys’ plans to produce carbon negative fuels in the Humber.

“Having innovative businesses like Velocys in the Humber region makes a zero carbon industrial cluster here an exciting possibility, which will result in new jobs and clean growth delivering for the environment as well as the economy.”

The Zero Carbon Humber campaign aims to create the UK’s first net zero industrial cluster in the region which could make a bigger contribution to UK’s climate goals than any other industrial cluster – capturing 15% of the UK’s current annual CO2 emissions.

By using bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) Drax will be able to remove more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it produces, creating a negative carbon footprint for the company.

CCUS incubation area, Drax Power Station, July 2019

CCUS incubation area, Drax Power Station; click image to view/download.

ENDS

Media contacts:

Ali Lewis
Drax Group Head of Media & PR
[email protected]
07712 670 888

Selina Williams
Drax Group Media Manager
[email protected]
07912230393

Notes to editors:

Drax was the first company in the world to announce an ambition to become carbon negative by 2030 when CEO Will Gardiner spoke at COP 25 in Madrid in December.

Sustainable biomass is an important part of the UK’s long-term energy mix. Combining this renewable fuel with carbon capture and storage technology on Drax’s biomass generating units at its power station in North Yorkshire, England, means the Group’s operations could capture 16 million tonnes of CO2 a year or more – a significant proportion of the UK’s target.

Drax announced it had captured the first carbon dioxide from its pioneering BECCS pilot project earlier this year.

The UK Committee on Climate Change’s ‘Net Zero’ report states that BECCS could generate up to 173 TWh of electricity by 2050, capturing up to 51 million tonnes of CO2 – around half of the remaining carbon in the economy that the UK will need to capture to become ‘net zero’.

Drax launched the Zero Carbon Humber campaign in September with partners Equinor and National Grid Ventures, aimed at creating the world’s first zero carbon industrial cluster in the region.

About Drax

Drax Group’s purpose is to enable a zero carbon, lower cost energy future. Its 2,900-strong employees 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 five 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.

Customers:  

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/us

Velocys

Velocys is sustainable fuels technology company. Velocys designed, developed and now licences proprietary Fischer-Tropsch technology for the generation of clean, low carbon, synthetic drop-in aviation and transport fuel from municipal solid waste and waste woody biomass. Velocys is currently developing projects in Natchez, Mississippi, USA (incorporating Carbon Capture Use and Storage) and Immingham, UK to produce fuels that significantly reduce both greenhouse gas emissions and key exhaust pollutants for aviation and road transport. Originally a spin-out from Oxford University, in 2008 the company acquired a US company based on complementary technology developed at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Velocys is headquartered in Oxford in the United Kingdom.

www.velocys.com

Drax Power Station’s 2020 apprentice scheme opens to applicants

9 January 2020

Press releases
Female engineer at Drax Power Station
  • An award-winning Drax apprentice has encouraged budding engineers to follow in his footsteps and start their careers at the UK’s biggest renewable power station in 2020.

Kai Lewis, who was named Drax Power Station’s Uniper Engineering Academy Apprentice of the Year in October, has urged would-be applicants not to miss out on the chance to start a career with Drax – the world’s first company to announce an ambition to become carbon negative – and submit their applications before the end of January.

Kai, who is in the second year of his apprenticeship, said:

“There’s so much technical ability at Drax to learn from, it’s a fantastic start for all of us so early in our careers and this year’s intake of apprentices will be no different. There’s so much going on, it’s a real chance to play a part in an energy sector, which is changing really quickly.

“It’s been an amazing start to my career. I’ve still got lots to learn but it’s great experience.”

Photo of Kai Lewis (centre) receiving the Uniper Engineering Academy Apprentice of the Year Award alongside Mike Maudsley (left), Drax’s UK Portfolio Generation Director and BBC Look North’s Harry Gration (right).

Photo of Kai Lewis (centre) receiving the Uniper Engineering Academy Apprentice of the Year Award alongside Mike Maudsley (left), Drax’s UK Portfolio Generation Director and BBC Look North’s Harry Gration (right).

Andy Koss, CEO Generation, said:

“There’s no better way to start a career in engineering than here at Drax. Groundbreaking technologies are being piloted by our world class engineers, which could enable Drax to be the first company globally to be carbon negative, making a major contribution towards addressing the climate crisis.

“Every business in the Northern Powerhouse region has a role to play in creating opportunities for young people and raising aspirations – encouraging them to develop the skills they’ll need in the future. Apprentices are not only vital to the long-term future of our business – they also possess the future talent needed to ensure the UK meets its net zero carbon by 2050 targets.”

Applications for Control and Instrumentation Engineering, and Electrical Engineering apprentices close on Friday January 31 with successful applicants taking up their posts in August 2020.

Drax is keen to attract applications from people of all backgrounds and to encourage diversity.

To apply or find out more about the apprenticeships available, visit the Drax website.

ENDS

Media contacts:

Aidan Kerr
Drax Group Media Manager
[email protected]
07849090368 

Lily Pettifar
Drax Group Media Intern
[email protected]  
07719 559556

Notes to editors:

  • Drax became the first business in the world to announce an ambition to become carbon negative when Group CEO Will Gardiner spoke at COP25 in December. It plans to achieve this by using bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) technology, on its biomass generating units at Drax Power Station.
  • Becoming carbon negative would mean it would be removing more carbon dioxide than it emits across the whole of the Group’s operations, whilst producing the flexible, renewable electricity millions of homes and businesses rely on.

About Drax

Drax Group’s purpose is to enable a zero carbon, lower cost energy future. Its 2,900-strong employees 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 five 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.

Customers:  

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/us