900MW gas plant go ahead

Energy Minister Charles Hendry has given consent for the building of a 900MW gas power plant at the London Gateway Logistics Park, Coryton, Essex. The £600 million project will comprise […]

Energy Minister Charles Hendry has given consent for the building of a 900MW gas power plant at the London Gateway Logistics Park, Coryton, Essex. The £600 million project will comprise of two CCGT generating units, each around 450MW in capacity.

Charles Hendry said: “With a quarter of our electricity generating capacity shutting down over the next ten years as older plants close, new power stations like Coryton will play a crucial part in the country’s energy mix as we make a move towards a low carbon economy.

“There is also a major opportunity in the long-term for gas power stations like this to be fitted with abatement technology. This station will be built carbon capture ready, which means that eventually CO2 emissions from the plant could be captured and transported for storage offshore.

The proposed combined cycle gas turbine plant would take about three years to build, generating around 600 jobs during the construction period. The power station is being designed to be carbon capture ready. If CCS technology is proven on a large scale the equipment can be retrofitted to the site and up to 90% of CO2 can then be captured.

Since May 2010 the Government has given consent to 5,456MW of new capacity.

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