Rising Costs Force Closure of Ferrybridge Power Plant in England

---

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Scottish utility SSE plc (Perth, Scotland) blamed rising costs, falling profits and stricter environmental rules for its decision to close the 2,000-megawatt (MW), coal-fired power plant at Ferrybridge in West Yorkshire, England.

The 48-year-old Ferrybridge plant will close in the coming year, with the loss of 172 jobs.

SSE claimed that the plant already has lost more than £100 million ($156.5 million) and is forecast to lose £100 million more during the next five years. It said that the rising costs, combined with the "political consensus that coal has a limited role in the future," meant keeping the station open was not sustainable.

"This was a very difficult decision to take because of the impact on our Ferrybridge employees, their families and the community," said Paul Smith, SSE managing director, generation. "It's been known for many years that the U.K. would have to phase out coal as it moves towards a more sustainable energy mix. We've sought to protect jobs and invest in the site to keep it running for as long as we possibly could, but ultimately, we've had to make this regrettable decision today."

He added: "Our team at Ferrybridge is highly skilled, dedicated, and with a strong track record of performance--and we're keen to ensure, where possible, that staff are redeployed across other parts of the SSE group--for example, the nearby Keadby power station--or across the wider business. We appreciate it is a concerning time for our employees, and our priority is to support them over the coming weeks and months."

The company said it will try to redeploy workers across the group, some at its nearby Keadby power station.

SSE said the decision will not affect the Ferrybridge Multifuel 1 (FM1) project, which is due to be fully operational by the end of 2015, supporting 46 full-time jobs at the site. The project has a total investment value of $548 million.

Last year, SSE announced it was planning to shut both Ferrybridge and the 240-MW, coal-fired Uskmouth plant in Gwent, rather than invest the money needed to modernize both plants. It selected the Limited Life Derogation option under the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) for its remaining capacity at both plants, meaning plants can run without fitting further abatement technology for a total of 17,500 hours, or to the end of December 2023. For additional information, see January 13, 2014, article - SSE to Shut Two U.K. Coal-Fired Plants.

Earlier this month, Industrial Info reported on how coal, despite a small drop in usage, managed to retain its lead over gas, nuclear and renewable energy in the U.K.'s electricity mix. For the three-month period of December 2014 through February 2015, coal provided 34.7% of electricity generation by major power producers, followed by gas at 25.1% and nuclear at 20.9%.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. To contact an office in your area, visit the Industrial Info "Contact Us" page.