Funding agreed for £600m Trafford power plant
AN Irish utility company has raised funding to build a combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant, big enough to supply a million homes, in Carrington near Manchester.
Financial details of the Carrington Power project were not disclosed but the scheme is estimated to be worth £600m.
Some 600 jobs will be created during construction and 50 permanent positions when the plant opens in 2016.
The Electricity Supply Board, which is 95% owned by the Irish government, said its subsidiary Carrington Power had reached financial close with an international syndicate of banks for the new 880MW plant.
The company said the project is funded by project-specific finance, incorporating export credit support from the Swiss Export Credit Agency, SERV. The funding was co-ordinated overall by RBS, with HSBC acting as SERV co-ordinator, other backers includeLloyds, KfW IPEX-Bank, Santander, BBVA and Société Générale.
ESB’s chief executive, Pat O’Doherty said: “The availability of project finance from a consortium of international banks was critical to the development of Carrington Power Limited and is a testament to their confidence in ESB and in this project.”
Carrington Power received planning permission in 2008 for the construction of the plant at the former Carrington coal-fired power station site
The overall construction contract has been awarded to the engineering consortium Alstom Duro Felguera.
The investment was welcomed by Edward Davey, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change as “great news for Manchester in terms of investment and jobs.”
He added: “Conventional gas fired power generation needs to remain in the energy mix for some time, even as we seek to develop alternative low carbon technologies such as renewables, nuclear and carbon capture and storage. We urgently need to replace some of our ageing coal power stations and gas is relatively quick to build and half as polluting.
“This announcement by ESB is great news for the UK’s energy security, and a recognition that the Government’s approach to encouraging new capacity is increasingly recognised by investors.”
Pre engineering work will begin at the site in October and full-scale construction early in the new year.
