Salford City council have awarded a 12-month contract worth £4.6m to biomass energy provider Drax to power households in Salford.
The deal will see “the procurement of an over 100kw electricity contract” that will power hundreds of homes.
The council signed a similar deal last year with Drax at an inflated price of £7.2m due to the energy crisis.
However, this renewal will see a £3.4m (42.2%) decrease since the relaxation of energy costs down to £4.6m
The council said in their report that “the procurement of a green energy contract will demonstrate the Council’s support for the generation of electricity from renewable sources and its commitment to corporate social responsibility.”
Biomass is considered green energy by most organisations as although Drax create electricity through burning pellets, they also grow trees to provide this fuel.
Drax abandoned plans for a gas power plant in 2021 and have focused entirely on green energy since, providing hydroelectric power through the Cruachan Power Station purchased in 2018.
The organisation has also dedicated themselves to carbon capture and carbon negativity by 2030.
Funding for this contract comes from the revenue budgets and schools’ budgets.
Drax have also committed to visiting schools to promote “maths in the real world” as well as offering virtual work experience programmes and apprenticeships.
Salford council’s decision to award this contract to an on paper green energy supplier ties in with the UK government’s goal of decarbonising the power sector by 2035.
Currently 36.1% of the UK’s energy provided in the last year has been from renewable sources, 1.3% less than fossil fuels.
The contract was voted into effect September 13 and electricity will be provided by Drax from October 1.
Recent Comments