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Drax has delayed the closure of the two remaining coal units at its power station in North Yorkshire by six months to help alleviate concerns over the security of electricity supplies over the coming winter.
At the request of the government, the company has entered into an agreement with National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) to keep the two 660MW units available to provide a “winter contingency” service between October 2022 and the end of March 2023.
Under the terms of the agreement, Drax will be paid a fee for the service and compensated for costs incurred, including fuel costs. The units will not generate commercially for the duration of the agreement and will only operate if and when instructed to do so by the ESO.
Drax group chief executive Will Gardiner said: “At the request of the UK government, Drax has agreed to delay the planned closure of its two coal-fired units and help bolster the UK’s energy security this winter.
“Drax has played a central role in ensuring Britain’s energy security over several decades and our workforce is proud to be providing this critical support to the UK energy system.”
Drax will work with National Grid to source up to 400,000 tonnes of additional coal, which together with current stocks would be enough to generate 1TWh of electricity. Nevertheless, the firm said the life extension is not expected to result in a material increase in coal output, noting that coal generation accounted for less than 3% of its total output in 2021 and less than 1% in the first three months of 2021.
The company ended commercial operations on its two remaining coal units in March 2021 and their formal closure was scheduled for September 2022 following the fulfilment their remaining Capacity Market obligations.
Drax emphasised that the extension is expected to have no impact on its plan to equip two of the biomass units at the power station with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology and said it still intends to make a final investment decision on the project in 2024. It said site preparation works are ongoing and will be accelerated following the formal closure of the coal units in March 2023.
The government arranged a similar extension for EDF’s West Burton A coal-fired power station in June.
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