It has six 660 MW coal-fired generating units, with a maximum capacity of 3,870 MW. Producing around 24TW/hr annually it the largest single electricity generator in the United Kingdom (producing around 8% of total demand) and the second largest coal-fired plant in Europe. It has a maximum potential consumption of 36,000 tonnes of coal a day, it takes around 7 million to 11 milion tonnes annually, mostly from UK Coal, and generates around 1.5 million tonnes of ash each year.
Built by the Central Electricity Generating Board to be near the newly discovered Selby coalfields it began generation in 1974 and all six units were online by 1986. The boilers were constructed by Babcock Power Ltd and the generators by Parsons. It was the last coal-fired plant built in Britain. The plant was fitted with FGD (flue gas desulphurization) scrubbers over eight years from 1988 by Mitsui-Babcock.
AES Corporation brought Drax from National Power in November 1999 for around $3 billion. The US company abandoned the plant to its creditors in August 2003, leaving a total debt of around $2 billion. The plant is troubled by the fall in wholesale energy prices and the collapse of TXU Europe, which took 60% of its output, into administration. BHP Billiton, International Power, RWE and E.ON have all been touted as potential buyers, although all reported bids are for less than $200 million.