Drax January Newsletter
We’re pleased to share our first LinkedIn newsletter of 2024 with you, giving some updates from the past month at Drax.
Our latest updates:
Drax to launch new carbon removals business 🌍
We were excited to announce plans to launch a new independent business that will focus on becoming the global leader in large-scale carbon removals.
The new independent business will oversee the development of our new-build BECCS plants in the United States and work with a coalition of strategic partners to focus on an ambitious goal of removing at least 6Mt of CO₂ from the atmosphere annually.
Find out more here.
BECCS at Drax Power Station developments ⚡️
Earlier this month, we were delighted that the UK Government approved our planning application for BECCS at Drax Power Station to convert two of our biomass units to the carbon removal technology, BECCS.
Learn more from our UK BECCS Programme Director, Richard Gwilliam, in this video. 👇
This announcement came in the same week that Baringa published research, finding that the development of BECCS at Drax Power Station could save the UK up to £15bn in whole economy costs between 2030 and 2050, and could help provide a more efficient pathway to meeting the UK’s Net Zero targets.
More details in this infographic. 👇
Plus, we welcomed the announcement from the UK Government of the launch of a consultation on a transitional support mechanism for large-scale biomass generators, including Drax Power Station, as they transition from the end of their current renewable schemes in 2027 to BECCS. These announcements are great milestones in facilitating the deployment of BECCS and helping tackle climate change.
Louisiana is granted primacy for CO₂ storage 🇺🇸
At the start of the month, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted the State of Louisiana Class VI primacy for CO₂ storage. Streamlining permitting bottlenecks is key to scaling carbon removals quickly - we applaud the decision to grant primary regulatory authority to Louisiana and look forward to continuing to advance this important work together.
Learn more via our LinkedIn post here.
World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024 👥
Members of our team, including our CEO, Will Gardiner, were proud to attend the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting this month to join discussions with other businesses, policy-makers and governments about how we can improve outcomes for nature, climate and people.
During the week, it was announced that Drax has been featured in the First Suppliers Hub, a global repository of innovative and emerging technologies and suppliers that have committed to meeting the First Movers Coalition commitment thresholds across the heavy-emitting sectors. We look forward to working with the First Suppliers Hub to drive our carbon removals to market and help the world reach net zero targets.
Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) Early Adopters 🌿
We were thrilled to announce that we are Early Adopters of the TNFD, as part of a group of pioneering organisations that intend to start making disclosures aligned with the TNFD's recommendations in their corporate reporting.
We recognise the urgent global need to address nature loss and believe the TNFD recommendations and guidance will support us in our ongoing efforts to identify and assess nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks, and opportunities in the areas we operate.
A key development for the Cruachan Expansion project - UK Government progresses on electricity storage investment framework 🔋
We welcomed the announcement from the UK Government that it has selected a Cap and Floor regime as its preferred investment framework for new large-scale, long-duration electricity storage projects. This decision paves the way for the development of new pumped storage hydro plants, such as the one at Cruachan Power Station.
Read our response here.
Upcoming events 🗓️
🇺🇸 We’re looking forward to attending the Washington Mardi Gras Friday Luncheon in Louisiana next week, where we will meet with stakeholders from across the US South to celebrate their culture and to showcase the future development that technologies like BECCS will offer.
🎓 Plus, UK National Apprenticeship Week is coming up at the start of February, which aims to bring together businesses and apprentices to celebrate the achievements of apprentices and the many benefits they can offer. Stay tuned on our social media channels for some great videos and photos during the week.
Careers at Drax 📝
If you’re interested in joining us on our journey to create a zero carbon, lower cost energy future, take a look at some of our current vacancies, including:
Functional Business Trainer - UK
Operations Supervisors - Canada and US
Senior Treasury & Insurance Analyst - UK
Fuel Accounting Manager - UK
People Relations and Policy Advisor - UK
🔗 Visit our careers page to learn more: https://www.drax.com/careers/
💻 To stay up to date with everything Drax, visit drax.com