German RWE Mulls Building Giant UK Gas Plant

German utility RWE is to begin the planning process to develop future energy options at its former Tilbury B coal-fired power station, it said July 20, adding that this could include possibly 2.8 GW of new gas-fired capacity. 

The site is one of the best in the country for power generation given its proximity to London, the National Grid electrical and gas system, and cooling water from the River Thames, it said. 

Any investment decision will depend among other things on expected future market conditions and commercial viability. Very little new gas fired capacity has been built or approved in recent years in the UK, despite the capacity mechanism that protects the operator from the unpredictable output of renewable capacity.

However the long-term outlook for gas prices is now lower, thanks to new production and LNG capacity coming on line in the US and elsewhere.

Since the Tilbury station closed in 2013 after a few years as a biomass plant, marred by a major fire in 2012 of wood pellets stored as fuel at the site, RWE has been evaluating development options for the since once the plant is demolished, expected by late 2018. The company expects to submit an application to the planning department around that time, after consultation. 

RWE will now begin the process to develop plans for the site and obtain a Development Consent Order (DCO) for a combined-cycle gas turbine plant and other energy generation and storage technology at its Tilbury site, to be known as Tilbury Energy Centre.

By virtue of its size, the development is a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project and will be assessed by the Planning Inspectorate (PINS). The Project will include up to 2.5-GW CCGT, an option for up to 300 MW of open-cycle gas turbine power generation and an energy storage facility. The final decision on whether a DCO should be granted will be taken by the Secretary of State.

RWE will shortly start its engagement process with all relevant stakeholders including the Planning Inspectorate, local authorities, the public and other statutory consultees, to develop its plans for future power generation.

Irish state owned ESB opened perhaps the only large CCGT in the UK of the past two years in September 2016; as at March 2017, that 880-MW Carrington gas-fired plant had run 80% of the time to date and yielded strong returns; it is now mulling development of a new 1.5-GW CCGT in Yorkshire. Czech EPH too said last year it wants to demolish a coal-fired plant at Eggborough and replace it with a 2-GW CCGT for start up about 2020.

William Powell