Drax powers forward with decarbonisation strategy
North Yorkshire-based energy company Drax states its trading and operation performance has been “robust” in the first three months of 2021.
In a trading update the firm highlighted that it had secured capacity market agreements worth around £10m for the deliver period October 2024 to September 2025 and a 15-year agreement for three new Open Cycle Gas Turbine projects which will support the UK’s transition towards net zero.
It added that it had also completed the acquisition of Pinnacle Renewable Energy which positions the business as a world leader in biomass generation and more than doubles its sustainable biomass production capacity.
The group’s focus on decarbonisation also saw the end of commercial coal generation in March with full closure in September 2022 and the sale of its existing gas generation assets in January.
Will Gardiner, CEO of Drax Group said: “In the first quarter of 2021 we delivered a robust trading and operational performance, alongside steps to further decarbonise the business and support our flexible and renewable generation strategy. These include the end of commercial coal generation, the sale of our gas power stations and just last week we acquired leading Canadian biomass producer Pinnacle Renewable Energy Inc.
“The acquisition of Pinnacle positions Drax as the world’s leading sustainable biomass generation and supply business. This advances our strategy to increase self-supply, reduce our own cost of biomass production and create a long-term future for sustainable bioenergy, which will pave the way for the development of negative emissions from Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS). BECCS at Drax would make a significant contribution to the UK reaching its new target to cut carbon emissions by 78% by 2035.”
