As Drax Power Station invests £700 million in converting its plant to predominantly burn biomass instead of coal, the business holds a crucial role in the UK’s efforts to fight climate change and Blade Access were chosen as the preferred working at height partner.
There are a thousand ways to make a lightbulb shine, said project engineer Jim Price, who was drafted in from Canada to help Drax convert its coal guzzling units to biomass, but only one is the right way.
Now Drax has had its lightbulb moment after ten years of research and development, and its premises are a hive of building activity.
About 2,500 people, including contractors and 850 permanent staff, have created a buzz at the 2,000-acre site outside the village of Drax, near Selby.
Contractors are laying a new railway, building a new rail hub, as well as conveyor belts, testing stations, and storage domes.
The domes were inflated from flat-packs and strengthened with polyurethane foam, steel and concrete and stand 50 metres tall. Each will hold up to 75,000 tonnes of biomass.
Since agreeing a fixed support regime through to 2027 with the Government, it is all systems go to convert the power plant from using 10 million tonnes of coal a year, with a little biomass on the side, to a predominantly biomass-fuelled plant.
Drax’s size and scale make the project of strategic importance to the UK’s success in meeting its targets on climate change.
By 2030, 30 per cent of the UK’s energy must come from renewable sources. Drax will provide ten per cent of that target, said chief executive Dorothy Thompson.
Assisting the construction phase of the new storage Dome’s, Blade Access supplied 70m Truck Mounted Platforms to the site allowing our client to complete their working at height in the safest way possible. Now the Domes are erected, our Platforms are being used to put the final finishing touches together and in this case it’s the fire escapes!
Our 70m Truck Mounted Platforms manufactured by Palfinger Platforms have provided faultless reliability over the term of the project ensuring our client could stick to their tight works schedule without unnecessary equipment breakdowns.
Placing the trust in our IPAF trained and highly skilled operators, site personnel were able to concentrate on the job in hand which further increased productivity on site.
It is fantastic for Blade Access as an innovative working at height solutions provider to be involved with such innovative future energy solutions. What Drax is achieving really is the next level. There has been a real enthusiasm within our people to work on this site and it is an incredible facility which is delivering a better infrastructure in the UK without question. It makes us proud to be involved with such a high profile project which we know will benefit millions of people in the years to come.
