00:00So the location of Drax is all about geography. This site was originally put here because
00:19of access to affordable coal, but the other important aspect of Drax's location is water.
00:26To run a power station of this size you need access to water resources, so we're located
00:30close to the River Rouse where we can take water out to cool the system and keep the
00:34plant operational.
00:36Drax Power Station used to be the largest coal-fired power station in Western Europe,
00:43providing secure, reliable power for the UK, but its role has changed as the needs of the
00:50UK energy system have changed.
00:52For me, Drax and Drax's history is a story of change and transition, and when we've converted
00:59Drax from coal to biomass, it's meant that the UK's electricity grid has actually decarbonised
01:04quicker than any other electricity grid in Europe.
01:08Drax Power Station was built on the old Selby Coalfields that were discovered in the late
01:1460s, and it was the last power station to be built in the area, and it was the biggest.
01:21I came up to Drax in 1970 with Cape Insulation, and we were more or less the first ones on
01:30site to start insulating the boilers.
01:33It was amazing, job-wise, I mean at one time I believe it employed about 3,000 people.
01:41The privatisation of the then CGB, the nationalised industry that ran all of the power generation
01:47in the UK up to the end of the 80s, was a huge moment for Drax and the industry.
01:52For Drax it meant more opportunity, it meant more freedom to invest in things that made
01:57sense locally here, and ultimately it meant the opportunity to convert to biomass.
02:04From where I grew up locally, if you were on the right hill, you could see Drax Power
02:12Station, Ferrybridge Power Station, Egborough Power Station, Cotton Power Station and West
02:17Burton Power Station, and with a little bit of a drive you could even get to Ratcliffe
02:21Power Station, so coal-fired power stations were all around me when I grew up.
02:26I remember Drax coming into schools and colleges, and it's how I'd had a part to play there.
02:32A lot of people in the community are either employed directly through Drax, or work on
02:39the site, or employed through some of the supply chain and support network that goes
02:44around it.
02:45It makes a huge impact to the community around us.
02:49What I love most about my job is the idea that I'm directly involved in tackling net zero.
02:57I'm now in the innovation team, and essentially what we're doing is we're going to keep looking
03:02at new opportunities, trying to solve problems that the business has now and might face in
03:07the future, and that might be through adapting the way that we operate the plant, new technologies,
03:13or even new markets and new products.
03:16We've got another important transition that we need to enable going forward, and that's
03:21turning what is a power station that provides secure, reliable biomass power for the nation
03:26into one that can provide carbon removals too.
03:29So as the needs of the power system have changed, the role of the power station is changing,
03:35but it's got a vitally important role going forward to provide secure power and carbon removals.
03:41BEX is bioenergy with carbon capture and storage.
03:44So essentially what that means is it's a new process piece of equipment that we'll be installing
03:51at the power station, which essentially takes the carbon dioxide out of the flue gas that's
03:56currently emitted, and then it stores that underground.
04:01DRAX has a really important role in pushing that power through the National Grid system,
04:06making sure that it gets to the locations to keep people powered and keep the kettles
04:11boiling and keep the lights on.
04:13I'm tremendously proud that DRAX has got to its 50th anniversary.
04:17It's a key milestone for everybody who works here.
04:20We're in great shape with our conversion to sustainable biomass, and with BEX we're looking
04:25at hopefully another 50 years.
04:27This technology at DRAX Power Station will provide a long-term and critical future for
04:32this asset, helping to sustain jobs and growth and opportunities in this region.
04:38It'll continue to be a beacon, not just for power generation, but for decarbonisation,
04:43an emblem for how we can change the way in which we produce electricity and we keep the
04:48lights on around the country.
04:57DRAX Power Station
04:58www.drax.gov.au
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