Drax CEO outlines ‘first of its kind’ plan to future-proof the power station

Drax Power Station near Selby generates 7% of the country’s electricity and now has three of its generators fuelled by low-carbon biomass; with a fourth due to be converted to this method in the summer.

This will leave the power station with two coal-fired generators, which the government has set out must be offline by 2025.

The station, which employs 900 people, is now launching its ‘re-power project’, setting out planning proposals which need to be approved by the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Drax Group is proposing to build two gas-powered generators on the north of the station’s site; which would, when combined, generate 3,600 megawatts of power  – each one would have the capacity to produce nearly three times as much of the power generated by one coal-fired generator. Each coal unit has 645MW and each gas generator would produce 1,800MW.

Should they get the go ahead, the two remaining operational coal-fired generators would close and the power generated across the site would increase and be more reactive to consumer needs, said CEO of Drax Power, Andy Koss.

He added that the proposed new generators would use the existing infrastructure, including the steam turbines and cooling towers. In a briefing with TheBusinessDesk.com, Koss said that the battery storage units would be used to ‘kick-start’ the gas generators into action; which he described the engineering concept behind it as “the first of its kind.”

Koss added that with the growth of renewable energy generation, including wind and solar, there was be a need to increase reactive power generation to “fill the gaps” that could emerge when demand outstrips renewable supply.

Talking of the proposed gas generator and battery storage, Koss said it was an incredibly exiting prospect to be ahead of the market. He said: “It will be the first of its kind in the UK. We think power generation needs to be as flexible as it possibly can be.

“This is a huge step away from coal-fired generation and, hopefully, over time, we will be able to take coal off the system by 2025.

“We need to be able to provide responsive, flexible and reliable power. Rather than leaving the generators to run, we need to be able to ramp up the voltage and respond to customer needs when there is demand.”

Each gas powered generator would take three years to build and Drax hope to have planning in place by 2019 and the first gas generator operational by 2023. The  multi-million-pound project would require a new gas pipeline connection to the Drax site to supply the generators, two potential routes for which are included in the consultation; it would also see tall but slim stacks being constructed, which are no higher than the cooling towers.

Koss won’t be drawn on exact figures, other than to say the price would need to be very competitive and the company would need to go through an auction process. He added: “The intention is to be the most competitive out there in the auction process.”

Of the future of Drax, Koss said: “We still see a long term future for biomass because it’s flexible and reliable. We hope to run the four biomass units past 2027. But it is very good to diversify and the gas generators would be at the cutting edge of power generation.”

The firm will re-skill people employed on the site and more jobs would be created through the construction phase.

“This increases the complexity of what we are doing here, helping job preservation and creating an even more interesting job for people on site,” he added.

Koss said it was imperative to always be ahead of the market and be testing options for power generation, as it becomes increasingly difficult to predict human demand for electricity as gadgets allow consumers to pre-set and cut down electricty usage. While there are peak usage times that the power station have to respond to, they want to be able to react to a quick surge or rise in demand in the future at a quicker rate.

“There has been more changes in the electricity sector in the last few years than the last few decades. We believe we have the expertise to build and operate the power generation of the future. Digital is changing demand. We won’t solve everything by going down one particular path but it’s a competitive marketplace as it becomes essential we use less carbon.”

Drax generated £577m for the Northern Powerhouse regional economy in 2016 and £1.7bn for the UK.

Further information about the project and planning application can be found at http://repower.drax.com

3D model of the Drax Repower project:

 

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