Drax generates £1.6 billion and supports over 17,500 UK jobs

The findings were revealed in a new report looking at the economic impact of Drax’s U.K. operations, which includes Drax Power Station—the country’s biggest renewable power generator, which produces enough renewable electricity for 4 million homes.

Based on Drax’s operations in the energy sector and its use of British businesses across its supply chain, the analysis by Oxford Economics estimates that the company contributed £1.65 billion to the economy and supported 17,500 jobs last year.

The vast majority of the Group’s impact was felt outside London and the South East; of the £1.65 billion gross value added by Drax Group, £142 million was in London, meaning 91 percent of the Group’s economic impact was experienced outside of the capital.

Employment supported by Drax’s activities covered a wide range of sectors including high-skilled manufacturing of industrial components, engineering and technical machinery, construction, IT, professional business services and transport.

Researchers at Oxford Economics used three measures to calculate Drax’s GDP contribution: the economic activity associated with the day-to-day running of the business; the activity created by the purchase of goods and services from its suppliers; and the wages the company’s employees and suppliers’ employees spend in their local area.

A breakdown of the GDP generated by Drax Group shows all regions of the U.K. benefited. Highlights include:

- £431 million created in Drax’s heartland of Yorkshire and the Humber, where its power station is located, a rise from £419 million in 2016.

- 1,100 jobs for the North East and £77 million contributed to the local economy.

- £273 million generated and 2,500 jobs supported in the East of England, where one of Drax Group’s B2B power supply businesses Haven Power, is based.

- 750 jobs supported and £51 million generated in Wales, home to the Cardiff offices of Opus Energy—Drax’s other B2B retail business, which supplies energy to SMEs

- 700 jobs supported in Scotland and £68 million generated in its economy.

- 850 jobs sustained and £64 million contributed to GDP in the South West.

Drax Group CEO, Will Gardiner, said, “As a British energy company, we are committed to working with U.K. businesses right across our supply chain. This report shows that Drax now supports more than 17,500 jobs across the U.K. and our proposed acquisition of a number of assets from Scottish Power will bolster these numbers further.

“With the power station’s sophisticated supply chain and our growing retail business, we are making a positive economic contribution in every region of the U.K. We are an important player in an energy sector and are keen to do whatever we can to help the country achieve a low cost, zero carbon future.

“Since upgrading two thirds of the power station to use sustainable biomass instead of coal, Drax has become the largest decarbonization project in Europe.

“We plan to stop using coal well ahead of the government’s 2025 deadline, with proposals to repower our remaining coal generating units to use gas.

“This will enable more renewables onto the system, paving the way for increased carbon savings across the U.K. and helping us to meet our climate targets.”

Osman Ismail, Senior Economist at Oxford Economics, said, “Drax Group makes an important economic contribution to Yorkshire and the Humber, and the U.K. more widely. Its activities generated almost £1.6 billion in GDP last year, and sustained thousands of jobs across the nation.

“Opus Energy was successfully been onboarded into the group, in 2017, and Drax’s principal activities of generating energy and supplying energy services to businesses directly and indirectly impacts a number of different regions in the U.K.in terms of both job creation and contribution to GDP.”