Member Article

New power station on Teesside

A new ‘green’ power station is to be built in the North East after Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks gave the go-ahead to Thor Cogeneration Ltd to build the 1000-megawatt gas-fired combined heat and power station.

The £500m station will be built on a 25-acre coastal site at Seal Sands near Stockton and could supply power to the National Grid by 2009. It is estimated that more than 200 jobs could be created in the construction phase of the operation.

Malcolm Wicks said: “To secure our energy supplies, and power our homes it is important industry brings forward new energy infrastructure. It’s also important, as we face the challenges of climate change, we move towards more efficient energy production and this power station is an example of that.”

The power station will require around 20% less gas per MW hour of electricity generated than many of the country’s existing gas-fired stations and will produce up to 60% less carbon emissions than current coal-fired plants. A combined cycle operation comprising two gas fired generators is planned. The surplus heat from these units will be used to produce steam to drive a further generator, with additional steam also being exported to local industry.

Paul Verrill, Project Manager at Thor Cogeneration Director, said: “It fits well with the Government’s recent energy review which concluded that while the drive to develop alternative and renewable energy sources continues, a new generation of cleaner, super-efficient gas fired power stations is likely to remain necessary in the short to medium term.

“This new plant will provide greener, reliable energy at a time when many existing power generation assets around the UK, particularly the ageing coal and nuclear fleet, are reaching the end of their operating life.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .