E.ON Begins Kingsnorth Shutdown in December

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) -- One of the U.K.'s largest coal-fired power stations is to have its generating capacity halved by the end of the year.

E.ON UK, a subsidiary of German energy giant E.ON AG (OTC:EONGY) (Dusseldorf, Germany), released an operational update for the Kingsnorth plant which will see its capacity reduced from 1,940- megawatts (MW) to 970 MW by December. In March, E.ON announced that it intends to shut the plant down completely by March 2013, two years earlier than expected. The company claimed the decision was based on its need to comply with European Union (E.U.) emissions rules, specifically the Large Combustion Plant Directive (LCPD). For additional information, see March 13, 2012, article - E.ON Shutting U.K. Kingsnorth Coal-fired Plant.

According to E.ON, Kingsnorth now has less than 2,000 hours of operation remaining from the original allocation of 20,000 hours.

"The further removal of capacity from the UK power system, on this occasion enough capacity to power up to 750,000 homes, reinforces the need for the U.K. to push forward with its proposals to reform the market through the current Energy Bill," stated Sara Vaughan, Director of Regulation and Strategy of E.ON UK.

"Over the last five years we have invested almost as much in the U.K. as we have made in profit and we remain fully committed to playing our part in modernising the U.K.'s energy infrastructure," she added. "It is important however that, as older stations close due to the Large Combustion Plant Directive, we have in place a market framework that will provide the confidence and clarity that everyone connected with the industry wants and needs."

The Kingsnorth announcement comes just weeks after the company announced that it is mothballing the oil-fired, Grain-A power plant on the Isle of Grain, Kent, in south-east England.

The company said the decision was made due numerous factors, including falling demand for power, a move towards cleaner energy and stricter emissions controls. The 33-year old Grain-A plant, with a generating capacity of 1,380 MW, was used mainly for back-up but had not generated any electricity for two years. For additional information, see August 8, 2012, article - E.ON Shutting Kent Oil-fired Power Plant.

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