More than 200 jobs will go at Drax when coal stops being burned to generate electricity.
The power giant has clarified the extent of the anticipated cuts next March, with a third of the operational team likely to go.
Andy Koss, chief executive of the generation arm of the business, said: “It is a historic day here from a business perspective, it is another step on the decarbonisation journey, but it comes with job losses.
“That is a really difficult message initially, and that’s our focus at the moment.”
The short term pain, potentially devastating for many families, will pave the way for long term growth however, with potential to up biomass from 7.5 million tonnes to 10 million tonnes, while all eyes will be on the Budget next month when it is hoped further clarity will be given to the pursuit of carbon capture and storage, with Drax and partners poised to clean up the Humber.
But for now, it is dealing with the envisaged 200 to 230 losses from the 640 currently employed at the plant, as the two remaining coal units are switched off, as reported earlier on Thursday.
“We will be going through consultations, and they will begin soon,” Mr Koss said. “We will open up a voluntary programme, there are people here with very long service, well protected pensions, so there may be a number of people who see it as an opportunity, but we expect there to be some compulsory redundancies.”
Drax is also working with the supply chain, though he revealed the plant hasn’t taken a coal delivery for "some time". Last year saw just 4 per cent of output from the fossil fuel, with no coal burned between February and November.
“We are working with people along the supply chain, but the reality is there has been a steady decline in coal, not just into us but plants elsewhere. For ports and rail companies there will be some impact, but it will be pretty small. There is, however, the finality of knowing it is not going to come back.”
Generation-wise the company has performed ahead of budget, and looking to the future there is chance to build again.
“We want to become carbon negative, we want to go ahead with carbon capture and storage, and we aim to move from 7.5 million tonnes of biomass to 10 million tonnes, and that could be more jobs, more activity going through the port and plant.”
On carbon capture, with Drax launching a huge campaign last year with partners Equinor, National Grid Ventures and Humber Local Enterprise Partnership to win support, Mr Koss said: “We are looking now to the Budget. We have a more settled government, which is always a good thing, and the Conservative Party pledged £800 million to carbon capture and storage in the manifesto. What we hope to see in the Budget is a bit more detail. We had Kwasi Kwarteng (Energy & Clean Growth Minister) here and he was very supportive of what we are doing in the broader Humber region.
“We have also launched a Zero Carbon Skills Taskforce. We are going to have to train people as we move from a heavy fossil fuels base to a more sustainable environment. He is very supportive of everything we are trying to do.”
