Eggborough power station

HistoryEdit

Eggborough Power Station was built between 1962 and 1970, and first began generating electricity in 1967. The station comprises four 500 megawatt (MW) coal-fired units, giving the station a total electrical output of 1,960 MW. Units 3 and 4 have been installed with Flue Gas Desulphurisation equipment, which reduces the units' emissions of Sulphur Dioxide by around 90%.

The station has a 200 m (660 ft) tall chimney.

In 2005 a retrofit turbine upgrade was carried out to increase the station's efficiency and flexibility by improving part-load and two-shift operation.

The station employs around 300 people, as well as contractors.

OwnershipEdit

The station was built for, and initially operated by, the Central Electricity Generating Board. The station became the property of National Power on privatisation of the industry in 1990.

British Energy bought Eggborough Power Station, as its only coal-fired power station, in 2000 to provide a more flexible power production facility alongside its nuclear power stations to reduce penalty charge risks from the New Electricity Trading Arrangements introduced in March 2001. The purchase of Eggborough occurred at the peak of the market for power stations, and in 2002 the value of the station was written down by half.

At the beginning of 2009, Électricité de France (EDF) purchased British Energy. In August 2009, it became apparent that the station's lenders, had the option to buy the station the following April, to comply with commitments made to the European Commission when agreeing the acquisition of British Energy. On 1 April 2010, EDF transferred Eggborough to the plant's bondholders.

In November 2014 it was announced, that power station will be acquired by Czech Republic-based Energetický a průmyslový holding. The acquisition was finalised January 2015.

In September 2015 the owners announced the plant was expected to stop producing electricity by the end of March 2016. However less than two months before the closure, in February 2016 it was announced that the plant would continue to operate for at least another twelve months through to March 2017.

On 1 August it was announced that a further unit would be available to run commercially from mid September 2016. Units 1 & 2 will generate for National Grid under the Supplementary Balance Reserve contracts providing 775 MW Unit 4 returned to commercial operation on 16 September 2016 to generate 440 MW into the wholesale market following six months of deep maintenance

On 26 August 2016 Eggborough Power Limited or ‘EPL’ proposed to develop a new Eggborough Gas-Fired Power Station on the site of its existing coal-fired power station. The new power station will be a combined cycle gas turbine or ‘CCGT’ plant with three units generating 2,000 MW. Outline plans for the new development, which should be completed by 2022, involve demolishing the coal fired site and building a new gas connection. The plans are available on the National Infrastructure Planning web site and summarised on Eggborough's own website.