Drax to invest £3billion into renewables

For decades, Drax Power Station at Selby in North Yorkshire has provided secure, reliable power for the UK. As the biggest generator of renewable electricity in the UK, Drax provides enough power for four million homes, while the station’s conversion to sustainable biomass has protected thousands of jobs, reduced emissions by 95%, and helped the region become a national hub for renewable energy. Through innovation and investment, Drax is ready to go further with innovative technology that supports climate targets while creating opportunities across the North in the 2020s.
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Published 7th Jun 2022, 13:10 BST
Updated 8th Jun 2022, 07:06 BST
Billions of investment from Drax for green energy transformation across Yorkshire and the UKBillions of investment from Drax for green energy transformation across Yorkshire and the UK
Billions of investment from Drax for green energy transformation across Yorkshire and the UK

The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently released a report on climate change which clearly stated carbon removals from technologies such as bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) are needed to meet global climate targets.

Drax is ready to invest £3 billion in renewable energy technologies, including Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage – known as BECCS. BECCS is the only carbon removal technology that also generates renewable electricity, so it will support energy security, whilst removing millions of tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere.

Generating reliable renewable power in Yorkshire for British homes and businesses is the best way to reduce emissions and deliver energy security while cutting costs for consumers. With the right government support and investment framework, the BECCS project at Drax’s North Yorkshire power station could start capturing millions of tonnes of CO2 as soon as 2027, permanently storing those emissions in geological formations under the North Sea.

“It is time to put words into action and begin scaling up these important technologies.” Drax advances renewable technology transformation to bring jobs and investment to Yorkshire“It is time to put words into action and begin scaling up these important technologies.” Drax advances renewable technology transformation to bring jobs and investment to Yorkshire
“It is time to put words into action and begin scaling up these important technologies.” Drax advances renewable technology transformation to bring jobs and investment to Yorkshire

BECCS will also sustain and create more than 10,000 green jobs in the North and put the UK at the forefront of a climate solution that will be needed globally to decarbonise economies and support energy security.

Furthermore, BECCS would anchor decarbonisation of a chain of businesses in the Humber – the UK’s most carbon intensive industrial region, helping remove significant volumes of CO2 from the atmosphere and protecting jobs and the region’s industrial heritage.

Drax has an ambitious aim to source 80% of the materials and services it needs for its BECCS project from British businesses, creating hundreds of millions of pounds worth of contracts. It is delivering a series of supplier roadshows in the North of England with recent events in Hull and Teesside attracting over 600 businesses, eager to seize the opportunity.

With the right policies to unlock investment, Britain can lead the world in these technologies, which are urgently needed to deliver clean, secure, lower-cost energy while creating and protecting thousands of jobs across Yorkshire and the rest of the UK.

Drax says “it is time to put words into action and begin scaling up these important technologies”.

To find out more about BECCS at Drax and to pledge your support for the project, click here.

Related topics:North YorkshireCO2North SeaTeessideEngland