RWE Plans 2,000-Megawatt CCGT Power Plant in England

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--With the submission of plans for a 2,000-megawatt (MW) facility in Willington, Derbyshire, energy giant RWE AG (OTC:RWEOY) (Essen, Germany) is continuing an ambitious campaign for building gas-fired power stations in the United Kingdom.

The plans have been submitted to the government's Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) by the company's U.K. arm, RWE npower (Swindon), which aims to build the combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant on the site of the former Willington A and B power stations. The former coal-fired plants were closed in 1995 and 1999. Planning permission could take two years to obtain, and with a three-year window for construction, the CCGT plant could be operational by 2015. The cost of the project is estimated to be £1 billion ($1.63 billion).

RWE npower is currently building a 2,000-MW gas-fired CCGT on the site of a former oil-fired power station in Pembroke Dock, Wales, with Alstom SA (EPA:ALO) (Levallois-Perret, France). The facility will be the largest CCGT plant in the U.K. For additional information, see related April 28, 2009, article - Alstom to Build U.K.'s Biggest Combined-Cycle Power Plant. The company is expected to commission the 1,650-MW CCGT plant in Staythorpe, Nottinghamshire, in the middle of next year, which is also based at the site of two former coal-fired plants.

RWE's drive toward cleaner power, which includes a growing renewables portfolio, stems from the company's unenviable position as the largest corporate emitter of CO2 in Europe. At present, coal- and lignite-fired power plants generate more than half of the RWE's electricity. The company is in the midst of investing billions of euros to reduce the 172 million tonnes of CO2 produced in 2008 by 30% by 2015.

Mike Peel, RWE npower project manager, said: "As some of the country's existing power stations are coming to the end of their operational lives, there is an increasing need for new power generation from a diverse range of fuel sources. Gas is an important part of this mix, and we believe that our Willington site could be a very strong option for new generating capacity.

"To ensure the local community has been kept up-to-date with our plans, we have held two rounds of public exhibitions in the local area over the last six months. We expect the government to take around 12 months to consider our application, during which time they will carry out further consultation with South Derbyshire District Council, Derbyshire County Council and other statutory consultees."

Just this week, rival energy company Scottish and Southern Energy plc (OTC:SSEZY) (Perth, Scotland) announced that it has completed work on an 840-MW combined-cycle gas turbine power station in Marchwood, near Southampton. For additional information, see December 14, 2009, article - Scottish and Southern Energy To Fire Up Marchwood CCGT Plant.

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