Green light for new gas fired power station
Permission has been granted to develop a new gas fired power station on the site of a coal power station in Yorkshire which announced it was to close earlier this year.
The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has granted development consent to Eggborough Power Limited (EPL) to develop a new gas fired power station on the site of its coal fired power station at Eggborough near Selby, North Yorkshire.
Construction of the new gas fired power station could commence as early as mid 2019, creating up to 1,200 construction jobs with a further 70 permanent operational jobs once the plant becomes operational.
Once constructed the gas fired power station will have a gross output capacity of up to 2,500 megawatts and be capable of supplying the electricity needs of over 2 million homes. It is anticipated the new station would not be operational until the early 2020s.
In addition to three combined cycle gas turbine units, the new power station will include a gas-fired peaking plant of up to 299 MW that would be capable of providing a rapid response to changes in demand and supply on the electricity transmission system. A new underground gas pipeline will be constructed to connect the power station to the UK’s natural gas transmission network.
EPL submitted its application for development consent to the Secretary of State at the end of May 2017 following two stages of consultation with key stakeholders and the local community held in late summer 2016 and early 2017. The consultation included several public exhibitions that were held near the site at which there was the opportunity to discuss the project and provide comments.
James Crankshaw, Head of Engineering at EPUKI, said: “We are delighted with the Secretary of State’s decision to grant consent. Eggborough has been a significant part of the UK energy landscape for over 40 years and this consent provides an opportunity for the site to continue to play a key role in both the local economy and in the security of electricity supplies nationally.”
In February, the coal fired station was announced to be closing from this September, putting up to 200 jobs at risk. The closure was announed because the station was not successful in the Capacity Market auction for the period 2018-19.
Eggborough Power Limited said at the time it would continue to meet its obligations under the current Capacity Market contract, which runs through to the end of September 2018, but said that without a contract for future years it will cease to be economically viable to continue operations at the station.
The power station was built in 1970 with an expected life-span of 25 years. It comprises of four units and supplies 5% of the power in the UK, equivalent to powering around two million homes.
