Completion of deal means Drax will play bigger role at heart of Great Britain’s energy system. Drax is set to play a bigger role in Great Britain’s energy system than ever following the completion of the purchase of Spanish company Iberdrola’s portfolio of flexible, low-carbon and renewable assets, for £702 million subject to customary adjustments. The combination of hydro plants in Scotland with Drax’s biomass units in Yorkshire reinforce the company’s position as Great Britain’s biggest generator of renewable power. With the addition of 35% of Great Britain’s electricity storage capacity and 2GW of gas power stations Drax will also be better placed to provide the flexibility and stability to help underpin the increases in solar and wind power which will be needed in the decades to come if the UK is to meet its climate targets. The 2.6GW portfolio consists of Cruachan pumped storage hydro (440MW) in Argyll, run-of-river hydro locations at Galloway and Lanark (126MW) and a biomass-from-waste facility at Daldowie in Scotland as well as four Combined Cycle Gas Turbine stations in England: Damhead Creek (805MW) in Kent, Rye House (715MW) in Hertfordshire, Shoreham (420MW) in West Sussex and Blackburn Mill (60MW) in Lancashire.
Drax Press Release 1st Jan 2019 read more »
Cruachan Power Station in Argyll has started 2019 under new ownership after a £702 million deal completed a minute before midnight on Hogmanay.
Energy Voice 2nd Jan 2019 read more »
The energy regulator has threatened to shut down a troubled household supplier with 250,000 customers unless it addresses service failings. Ofgem said that it was banning Economy Energy from taking on new customers, demanding one-off payments from existing customers or increasing their direct debits because of its “unacceptable” levels of service. It noted that Economy was breaking, or likely to break, licence conditions and standards over service, billing, refunds and handling of complaints. The regulator warned the company that if it failed to improve, it could revoke its licence to operate.
The Times 5th Jan 2019 read more »
