North Yorkshire-based power-generator Drax said today that it has plans to invest £3billion in renewables in Britain and the US, creating thousands of green jobs.
This came as the company announced that-tax profits in the first half of 2022 had almost quadrupled to £200million, compared to the £52million achieved in the same period a year ago.
The company, which employs 3,400 people in the UK and North America, describes itself as the UK's largest generator of renewable power by output, and says it plays a "critical role" in supporting the country's security of supply.
The Drax portfolio includes sustainable biomass, hydro-electric and pumped hydro storage assets across four sites in Scotland and England.
The firm also operates a global bioenergy supply business, with manufacturing facilities at 13 sites in the US and Canada producing compressed wood pellets for its own use and for customers in Europe and Asia.
Drax Scottish operations include Cruachan pumped storage power station in Argyll and Bute.
Chief executive Will Gardiner reported today that the company was accelerating its investment in renewable generation, having recently submitted planning applications for the development of bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) at the Drax power station in North Yorkshire and for the expansion of the Cruachan facility.
Leading producer
He added: "As a leading producer of sustainable wood pellets, we continue to invest in expanding our pellet production in order to supply the rising global demand for renewable power generated from biomass. We have commissioned new biomass pellet production plants in the US South and expect to take a final investment decision on up to 500,000 tonnes of additional capacity before the end of the year.
"As carbon removals become an increasingly urgent part of the global route to net zero, we are also making very encouraging progress towards delivering BECCS in North America and progressing with site selection, government engagement and technology development.
"In the UK and US, we have plans to invest £3billion in renewables that would create thousands of green jobs in communities that need them - underlining our position as a growing, international business at the heart of the green energy transition."
Earlier this month, Drax submitted plans to build a BECCS project at its North Yorkshire power station.
The company proposes to invest £2billion in the 2020s in its plans to develop two BECCS units, creating and supporting thousands of jobs in the north and enabling the UK to lead the world in a vital new technology needed to address the climate crisis.
Work on building the BECCS facilities at Drax could start as soon as 2024 and, once operational, the two units combined will capture at least eight million tonnes of CO2 per year.
Drax said this would make it the largest carbon capture and storage project in the world.