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Drax power station is a large biomass power station in Drax, North Yorkshire, England, capable of co-firing petroleum coke. It has a 2.6 GW capacity for biomass and had a 1.29 GW capacity for coal that was retired in 2021. Its name comes from the nearby village of Drax. It is situated on the River Ouse between Selby and Goole. Its generating capacity of 3,906 megawatts (MW), which includes the shut down coal units, is the highest of any power station in the United Kingdom, providing about 6% of the United Kingdom's electricity supply. Opened in 1974 and extended in the 1980s, the station was initially operated by the Central Electricity Generating Board. Since privatisation in 1990 ownership has changed several times, and it is operated by the Drax Group. Completed in 1986, it was the newest coal-fired power station in England until it closed in 2021. Flue gas desulphurisation equipment was fitted between 1988 and 1995. The high and low pressure turbines were replaced between 2007 and 2012. By 2010, the station was co-firing biomass. In 2012, the company announced plans to convert three generating units to solely biomass, burning 7.5 million tonnes imported from the United States and Canada. This work was completed in 2016 and a fourth unit was converted in 2018. The company planned to convert its remaining two coal units to Combined Cycle Gas Turbine units and 200 MW battery storage. However, those two coal units were shut in 2021 without converting them to biomass. History Drax was initially conceived by the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) in 1962 as the country's largest power station thus far, at about 3,000 MW. Subsequently, it was decided to use this opportunity as their first station to use the 660 MW turbogenerator sets which were planned to become the new standard, so the planning consents were revised to about 4,000 MW. Following the Selby Coalfield discovery in 1967 the Board would build three large power stations to use its coal. These were an expansion of the station at Ferrybridge, a new station at Eggborough, and Drax, which would be the largest. Construction Authority to carry out preparatory works was granted in December 1964, leading to full permission in March 1966, on the basis that the station would be designed to accommodate six 660 MW units, but that only the first three be proceeded with for the time being. Ground work for these three units, known at the time as 'Drax First Half', started in 1967. Two units were synchronised to the grid in 1973, and the third in 1974. Although authorised, the second half of the project – known as 'Drax Completion' – was deferred, because during the project's gestation the Board's energy mix policy shifted to working towards a majority nuclear system. The Board decided in 1977 that construction of the final three units would commence in 1979 with the target of commissioning in 1985/6, as part of meeting load growth with an adjusted mix policy aiming for a balance of coal, nuclear, and oil. However, later that year in July, the Government requested that Drax Completion proceed immediately, ahead of requirements, in order to secure jobs in the North East's heavy manufacturing industries. The Board agreed to this subject to being compensated. The architects were Jeff King and Dennis Merritt of Clifford, Tee and Gale. The architectural critic Reyner Banham was scathing of the design: 'less a brick cathedral than a concrete bunker... obsession with ribbed surfaces and forceful projections that have their origins in brutalism'. Costain constructed the foundations and cable tunnels; Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd. laid the roads and built the ancillary buildings; Mowlem laid the deep foundations; Alfred McAlpine built the administration and control buildings; Balfour Beatty undertook general building works; and James Scott installed cabling. Tarmac Construction undertook the civil engineering works; Holst Civil Engineers built the chimney; Bierrum & Partners built the cooling towers; N.G. Bailey installed cabling; Reyrolle, English Electric and South Wales Switchgear produced and installed the switchgear; English Electric manufactured the generator cooling water pumps; T.W. Broadbent maintained the temporary electrical supplies; and Sulzer Brothers manufactured the boiler feed pumps. In both phases the boilers were made by Babcock Power Ltd and the generators by C. A. Parsons and Company. The second phase was completed in 1986. Construction of the power station entailed the demolition of a farm known as Wood House. Mitsui Babcock fitted flue-gas desulphurisation (FGD) equipment between 1988 and 1995. Post-privatisation On privatisation of the CEGB in 1990, the station was transferred from the CEGB to the privatised generating company National Power, which sold it to the AES Corporation in November 1999 for £1.87 billion (US$3 billion). AES relinquished ownership in August 2003, after falling into £1.3 billion of debt. Independent directors continued the operation to ensure security of supply. In December 2005, after refinancing, ownership passed to the Drax Group. Separate acquisition offers from International Power, private equity group Texas Pacific, and a private equity backed bid from Constellation Energy were rejected for undervaluing the company. The company's valuation subsequently increased to 2005 as a result of rising electricity prices, and on 15 December 2005 Drax Group plc floated its shares on the London Stock Exchange, issuing £400 million worth of shares, on a valuation of £2.6 billion. In 2009, Drax Group submitted a planning application for the 300 MW biomass Ouse Renewable Energy Plant next to the power station. Government approval was obtained in mid 2011. In February 2012 the company ceased planning development of the plant, citing logistics costs, and uncertainty concerning government financial support for biomass. Carbon capture and storage In 2006 Drax Power Limited, in response to a government consultation, stated they were sponsoring development studies into carbon capture and storage (CCS), but noted that it was not then commercially viable, with costs comparable with nuclear or offshore wind power. On 17 June 2009, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Miliband announced plans that would require all UK coal-fired power stations to be fitted with CCS technology by the early 2020s or face closure. In 2012 a CCS project at Drax was shortlisted for government funding. In 2013 the White Rose Carbon Capture and Storage project (formerly the UK OXY CCS project) was shortlisted for the UK government's CCS scheme and in late 2013 was awarded a two-year FEED contract (Front End Engineering Design) for the CCS project. As of June 2014, Drax is engaged in a joint venture with Alstom and BOC to build a 626 MW oxygen-fuelled combustion power station adjacent to the existing Drax site. National Grid would simultaneously construct a pipeline to transport CO2 40 miles (64 .... Discover the Anna Selby The Diagram Group popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Anna Selby The Diagram Group books.