Thames Water has achieved a 100% renewable electricity supply after signing a long-term contract with Haven Power worth more than £500m over five years to supply the water company with their electricity requirements.

The deal with the specialist electricity supplier to UK businesses, which is part of  Drax Group plc, will enable Thames Water to use 100% renewable energy to provide water and wastewater services to its 15 million customers. There is an option for two further five-year renewals which could increase the overall value of the contract to more than £1.5bn over 15 years.

Haven Power is the UK’s largest independent electricity supplier to businesses and sources its power from the Drax power plant in Selby, Yorkshire, which, as a result of its world leading biomass transformation, is now the UK’s single largest supplier of renewable energy. The deal will enable Thames Water, which already sources about 20% of its electricity through self-generated renewables such as solar, wind, hydro and biogas, to meet all of its electricity needs from renewables.

Drax Group Chief Executive, Dorothy Thompson, said:

“I’m delighted that Drax and Haven will play such an important part in helping to deliver Thames ‘renewable objectives.  As the UK looks to decarbonise in an affordable and pragmatic way, it is pioneering companies like Thames that are leading the way.”

Angus Berry, energy manager, Thames Water, said:

“Our energy and carbon strategy centres around reducing costs for customers and minimising our impact on the environment. This deal with Haven puts downward pressure on bills and means we will now be using 100% renewable electricity. We look forward to growing our relationship with Haven to exploit further opportunities to minimise energy costs and emissions, as well as continuing to work towards our ambitious target of self-generating 30% of our own electricity by 2020.”

Drax is undergoing a major transformation programme to convert its 4GW power station – which supplies around 8% of the UK’s power – from coal to sustainable biomass. Two out of six units have now been converted and plans are advanced to convert a third unit to high-biomass later this year. The estimated 12 million tonnes of carbon saved once three units are fully converted is equivalent to taking 10% of the UK’s total vehicle fleet off the roads and makes Drax the single largest decarbonisation project currently underway in Europe.