Drax Can See End Of Coal Operations

Almost 50 years of coal-fired electricity generation at Drax Power Station in the UK is expected to come to an end in March 2021, marking a major milestone in the company’s world-leading ambition to become carbon negative by 2030.

It means the country’s largest power station will stop using coal well ahead of the government’s 2025 deadline, making an even bigger contribution to the UK’s efforts to achieve net zero.

The decision to stop using coal at Drax comes after a comprehensive review of its operations. Drax does not expect to use coal after March 2021, but will ensure its two remaining coal units remain available until September 2022 in line with its existing capacity market agreements.

Over the last decade four of the power station’s six generating units have been converted to use sustainable biomass, delivering carbon savings of more than 80% compared to when they used coal. This has transformed Drax to become the UK’s largest renewable power generator and the biggest decarbonisation project in Europe.

Drax Power Station near Selby in North Yorkshire first started generating electricity using coal in the 1970s. Once the second half of the power station was built in the 1980s, it became the largest power station in the UK with the capacity to generate electricity for 6 million households.

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