Drax : Pinnacle donates $50,000 to wildfire-hit communities in British Columbia

VANCOUVER - Pinnacle, part of Drax Group, is donating C$50,000 to Canada's Red Cross to support relief efforts for small communities hit by recent wildfires in Canada's western-most province of British Columbia (BC).

The funds donated to the British Columbia Fires Appeal will be used for immediate and ongoing relief efforts, long-term recovery, resiliency, and preparedness for future events in British Columbia and impacted regions, including consequential events related to the fires.

The Canadian Red Cross is working alongside First Nations and provincial, local and governments to support individuals, families and communities impacted by the wildfires in BC. This includes family reunification services so family and friends can ensure their loved ones are safe and well.

Andrea Johnston, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Pinnacle, said:

'This year has been hard for many people in this region - first the Covid-19 pandemic and now this searing heat, which combined with unprecedented dry conditions has led to a number of wildfires that have devasted the lives and homes of many people in these communities.

'We believe it's important to support the people in the areas where we operate and that's why we're donating C$50,000 to Canada's Red Cross to help those in British Columbia to take the first steps towards repairing their lives.'

Pinnacle, which was acquired by British energy company Drax Group in April, is headquartered in Vancouver and has operations across BC and Alberta in Canada and Alabama in the US.

The company is committed to supporting the communities in which it operates by promoting sustainable forestry and investing in local economic development. Seven of its pellet mills are located in BC where the fires first broke out earlier this month.

The wildfires spread across BC following record-breaking temperatures close to 50 C, destroying the village of Lytton. Hundreds of people have lost property and land and been evacuated from their homes in surrounding communities.

Pat Quealey, Vice-President, B.C. and Yukon, Canadian Red Cross said:

'Thanks to the generosity of Canadians, Red Cross is able to support the immediate and ongoing relief and recovery efforts during this wildfire season. The donation by Pinnacle will be matched by the Government of Canada and the Government of British Columbia, ensuring our teams can go even further to support those impacted.'

Prolonged heat and dry conditions mean that much of the province is still at risk and fire crews have already been battling hundreds of wildfires.

The Government of Canada and the Government of British Columbia will each match every dollar donated to the Canadian Red Cross (CRC), which means that every $1 donated will become $3 to support those affected by the wildfires.

To donate to the Red Cross B.C. Fire Appeal:

ENDS

Media contacts:

Pinnacle Communications

Karen Brandt
[e-mail]
250 510 0545

Editor's Notes

• Pinnacle produces sustainable compressed wood pellets at its pellet plants in Canada and the US. Pinnacle's wood pellets are principally sourced from sawdust and other materials left over from existing sawmilling activity, which would otherwise be left to decompose or be burned.
• Some of the pellets are shipped to Drax Power Station in England and used to generate renewable electricity for millions of UK homes and businesses. The rest is sold to other customers around the world.
• Pinnacle's pellet plants also deliver economic growth and jobs in Canada.

About Drax
Drax Group's purpose is to enable a zero carbon, lower cost energy future and in 2019 announced a world-leading ambition to be carbon negative by 2030, using Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) technology.

Its 3,400 employees operate across three principal areas of activity - electricity generation, electricity sales to business customers and compressed wood pellet production and supply to third parties.

Power generation
Drax owns and operates a portfolio of renewable electricity generation assets in England and Scotland. The assets include the UK's largest power station, based at Selby, North Yorkshire, which supplies five percent of the country's electricity needs.

Having converted Drax Power Station to use sustainable biomass instead of coal it has become the UK's biggest renewable power generator and the largest decarbonisation project in Europe. It is also where Drax is piloting the groundbreaking negative emissions technology BECCS within its CCUS (Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage) Incubation Area.

Its pumped storage, hydro and energy from waste assets in Scotland include Cruachan Power Station - a flexible pumped storage facility within the hollowed-out mountain Ben Cruachan.

Pellet production and supply
Drax owns and has interests in 17 pellet mills in the US South and Western Canada which have the capacity to manufacture 4.9 million tonnes of compressed wood pellets (biomass) a year. The pellets are produced using materials sourced from sustainably managed working forests and are supplied to third party customers in Europe and Asia for the generation of renewable power.

Drax's pellet mills supply around 20% of the biomass used at its own power station in North Yorkshire, England to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK's homes and businesses.

Customers
Through its two B2B energy supply brands, Haven Power and Opus Energy, Drax supplies energy to 250,000 businesses across Britain.

For more information visit www.drax.com