£100 million bid to cut carbon emissions at power station

The owners UK's biggest coal-fired power plant has unveiled a £100 million project to cut carbon emissions.
13 April 2012

The owner of the UK's biggest coal-fired power plant today unveiled a £100 million project aimed at cutting carbon emissions.

Drax said it intended to revamp turbines at its power station in Selby, North Yorkshire, in a bid to improve efficiency by 5 per cent.

Environmentalists targeted Drax in the summer, claiming it was the "single largest emitter of carbon dioxide in the UK" and demanded it reduce emissions.

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Drax is the UK's fourth most polluting power station per unit of electricity produced, according to the WWF's Dirty Thirty report published in October last year.

But the company, which produces 7 per cent of the country's electricity needs, said the turbine changes will be the equivalent of taking 275,000 cars off the road.

Drax was responsible for 21 million tonnes of CO2 carbon emissions in 2005, and said the work will cut that figure by one million tonnes a year.

Chief executive Dorothy Thompson said: "The decision to go ahead with the turbine reblading project demonstrates our commitment to invest in the future of the business and, importantly, to tackling climate change."

The work is expected to take place over a five-year period between 2008 and 2011, and the firm said it is in the final stage of negotiation with a preferred supplier.

It is thought the turbines will save half a million tonnes of coal each year because it will be able to burn supplies more efficiently.

Drax also said today it expected annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to be in the range of £578 million to £585 million. That compares to the £239 million booked last year. Around 600 people are employed at the plant, which was first opened in 1974. Shares in Drax were up 3.5p at 820p today. The company is listed in the FTSE 100 Index.

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