The funds donated include $20,000 from Drax Biomass to COVID-related relief efforts in Ouachita, Morehouse and LaSalle Parishes in Louisiana and Amite County in Mississippi as well as $10,000 to help communities hit by the tornadoes in the Monroe and West Monroe area.
Drax Biomass Senior Vice President , Matt White, said, "The tornadoes experienced by communities across the region in recent days have been devastating and they come at a difficult time as we are all dealing with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s important to support the people and businesses in the areas where we operate and that’s why we’re donating $30,000 to help local relief efforts. Our thoughts are with all of those affected by these events.”
Headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana, with operations in the Southeastern U.S., Drax Biomass is committed to supporting the communities in which it operates by promoting sustainable forestry and investing in local economic development. It is part of Drax Group.
Around two thirds of the sustainable biomass Drax uses each year comes from the U.S., where Drax owns and operates three pellet plants producing compressed wood pellets sourced from sustainably managed working forests in Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi.
The pellets are sent by rail and truck from the plants in Louisiana and Mississippi to Drax’s Baton Rouge export facility before being loaded onto ships for their transatlantic journey.
Sustainable biomass is an important part of the UK’s long-term energy mix. Using sustainable biomass instead of coal at Drax Power Station has already delivered carbon savings of more than 80%.
