Manchester Gas-Fired Plant Moves Forward

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) -- The company behind the proposed Carrington gas-fired plant outside Manchester, England, have secured the money needed to construct the plant.

Carrington Power Limited, owned by Ireland's state-owned Electricity Supply Board (ESB) (Dublin), announced that it has reached Financial Close with a syndicate of international banks for the 880-megawatt (MW) combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant just outside Manchester. The news came as the company awarded the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract to build the plant to an Alstom-led consortium, called Alstom Duro Felguera, in a deal worth €640 million ($827 million).

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 station is scheduled to be commissioned by 2016. In April this year, ESB revealed plans to invest €900 million ($1.2 billion) in building another U.K. CCGT plant, a 1500 MW project on the site of a former chemical works site at Knottingley near Leeds. For additional information, see April 26, 2012, article - ESB Plans €900 million Gas-fired Plant in England.

The news was welcomed by Edward Davey, the U.K. Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change.

"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 (CCS)," explained Davey. "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 U.K.'s energy security, and a recognition that the Government's approach to encouraging new capacity is increasingly recognised by investors. It's also great news for the Manchester area in terms of investment and jobs."

Duro Felguera, a Spanish company specialising in the execution of power plants, will be in charge of the plant's construction, which is worth around €230 million. Alstom S.A. (EPA:ALO) (Paris, France) will net around €410 million of the total for the supply of two GT26 gas turbines and other key components, including the steam turbine, heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) and turbo-generator. Alstom has also been awarded a 16-year service agreement to maintain the equipment from the date of commissioning.

Mark Coxon, Senior Vice President of Alstom's Gas business, commented: "This is the fifth gas-fired power plant that will be built in the U.K. out of the last six to have contracts awarded, which is a great reflection on the strengths of our technology."

In the U.K., Alstom has built, maintains and operates over half of the country's power generation capacity, the company claimed. Recent U.K. gas-fired plants constructed using the GT26 gas turbine include the 1,650 MW Staythorpe plant in Nottinghamshire, the 2,160 MW Pembroke power plant in South Wales, the 900 MW Langage power plant in Devon and the 1,275 MW Grain power plant in the Isle of Grain.

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