Drax and Siemens ink £40m deal for biomass turbine upgrades

The work will start in 2019 and take three years to complete

Drax Power has signed a new £40 million contract with Siemens to upgrade the turbines on three of its biomass units.

The project, which will include the installation of new, high-tech pipework and valves, is expected to deliver maintenance savings and improve the efficiency of the biomass facility in North Yorkshire.

The work will start in 2019 and take three years to complete, with one biomass unit being upgraded each year as part of Drax’s planned overhaul.

The company has upgraded three of its coal units to run on biomass, with a fourth one currently being converted and due to return to service later this summer.

It also plans to repower its remaining two coal units to use gas and develop up to 200MW of battery storage.

Andy Koss, CEO of Drax Power said: “We firmly believe that biomass has a long term role to play in the UK’s energy infrastructure. We’re looking at a number of ways to bring down the costs of our biomass generation – and these turbine upgrades are an important part of that work.”

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