RWE Overhauls Little Barford Gas-fired Plant

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) - The Little Barford power station in Cambridgeshire in the U.K. has successfully completed a €118 million ($154 million) upgrade of its gas turbines and associated facilities in an effort to reduce its emissions and boost power output.

The plant, which is owned and operated by RWE npower, part of Germany's RWE AG (OTC:RWEOY) (Essen, Germany), has been generating power since 1996 and the upgrades are expected to prolong the plant's life until 2025. The power station has a new generating capacity of 720-megawatts (MW), a 40 MW increase on its previous capacity of 680 MW. It can now generate enough power for more than 530,000 homes.

The power station has one generating module, consisting of two gas turbines and one steam turbine. The Station also has an open cycle gas turbine providing black start capability to the site. The upgrade included replacing the two gas turbines and the control system alongside a full upgrade of the boilers, steam turbines, generators and additional plant components.

Apart from the increase in capacity, RWE has noted a significant drop in harmful emissions. Emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) have been reduced by 40% which the company said will allow the station to meet stricter environmental limits being implemented in the U.K. on power generators. Increased fuel efficiency at the plant will offset the equivalent of 118,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) each year.

"We are extremely pleased with how the upgrade has gone, everyone involved in the project has worked hard to ensure that all work was managed successfully and responsibly," declared Kevin Lindley, Little Barford Power Station Manager. "We are exceeding all expectations, the new gas turbines are showing lower than expected fuel consumption and CO2 emissions per unit of power generated. We look forward to generating power for the East of England and the rest of the UK for many years to come."

Little Barford is one of five gas-fired plants that RWE operates in the U.K., the others being Didcot B, Great Yarmouth, Pembroke, and Staythorpe. Overall, the company runs a mix of oil, gas, coal and biomass-fired power stations in the country with a generating capacity of more than 11,000 MW -- equivalent to approximately 10% of U.K. electricity demand.

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