Workers plead with MPs to save Eggborough power plant

Hundreds of workers at the Eggborough power station (pictured) have joined forces to call on their local MPs to help save the plant and 800 jobs. The 2,000MW facility has […]

Hundreds of workers at the Eggborough power station (pictured) have joined forces to call on their local MPs to help save the plant and 800 jobs.

The 2,000MW facility has been working to covert from coal to biomass for over two years – which was due to start last month – but is expected to shut down one of the units this September. That’s because it failed to win funding from the Government as part of the new Contracts for Difference (CfD) support scheme as a result of a change in the selection criteria.

DECC ranked 10 renewable projects to get fast-track support starting this year but the Eggborough power plant conversion was excluded from the list.

In a letter to local MPs, Eggborough workers said: “We at Eggborough are very proud to have ‘kept the lights on’ for the last 40 years and we wish to continue to help meet the needs of the UK and avert ‘capacity crunch’ and blackout fears. Please look into this matter and let us know if there is anything you can do to help.”

Copyright: ELNTrade unions Unite, Prospect and the GMB are urging the Energy Secretary Ed Davey to “rethink his potentially disastrous decision”. They claim if the facility shuts, thousands more jobs could potentially be lost in the supply chain in rail, ports and engineering services.

Unite national officer for energy Kevin Coyne said writing off the power station would be “an act of industrial vandalism”.

He added: “The Coalition’s energy policy is flawed. Coal fired power stations are closing and there are not enough replacements yet Ed Davey seems content to lose 4% of the UK’s energy capacity in one fell swoop. It is no wonder Britain is heading for an energy crisis. We sincerely hope the Energy Secretary rethinks this bizarre decision.”

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