Power station wins consent for up to four new gas-fired turbines

Drax Power Station, in North Yorkshire, confirmed its planning application to develop new gas turbine technology has been approved.

The Government’s Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has given the Selby facility consent to modify up to two of its existing coal-fired generating units to become gas-powered generating plant.

This proposed project comprises up to four new combined cycle gas turbines, each of which will power a dedicated generator of up to 600MW in capacity.

The application was first submitted to the Government’s Planning Inspectorate for consideration on 29 May 2018 and accepted for examination on 26 June 2018.

A spokesman for Drax said: “The project could enable Drax to deliver more reliable and flexible, high efficiency electricity generation – helping the UK to transition to net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

“Drax must secure a capacity market agreement to underpin the investment needed to develop the first combined cycle generating unit.

“If developed, 1.8GW of new capacity would be available at Drax from October 2023. This could help to displace less efficient and higher carbon emitting power stations, enabling further decarbonisation of the UK’s power system, while creating up to 800 jobs during construction.”