Powerfuel was granted approval by the Government to build a 900 megawatt power station at Hatfield in Yorkshire
An ambitious plan to build the world’s largest “clean coal” power station at an old colliery in Yorkshire moved a step closer after the government gave a green light to the first stage of the project.
Powerfuel, a company owned by Richard Budge, a mining entrepreneur, was granted approval to build a 900 megawatt power station at Hatfield in Yorkshire which would supply enough electricity to power almost 1 million homes.
Mr Budge has proposed to build the plant in two phases, starting with a conventional gas-fired station which could then be converted to the use of coal gasification technology, in which coal from the colliery would be turned into gas with the carbon emissions stripped out for safe storage underground.
Energy minister Mike O’Brien granted approval for the first stage of the project although the government said further evidence would be needed to guarantee that the carbon could be stored safely before the second stage could be approved.
The first stage is expected to cost around £900 million with the second costing up to £1 billion.
If completed, the Hatfield plant would be the first and largest plant in the world equipped with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, which strips carbon dioxide from power-plant emissions and buries it deep underground in rock formations.
The decision was announced alongside approval for two other conventional gas-fired power stations - by Centrica at King’s Lynn in Norfolk and RWE N-Power at Pembroke in Wales.
The Centrica station will generate around 1000 megawatts of power while the N-Power station will provide around 2,000 megawatts.
In total the new plants will generate 4,000 megawatts of electricity or enough to supply 4 million homes.
“It is essential to replace older polluting power stations that are reaching the end of their lives with new stations that operate more efficiently,” said Mr O’Brien.
Powerfuel, a company owned by Richard Budge, a mining entrepreneur, was granted approval to build a 900 megawatt power station at Hatfield in Yorkshire which would supply enough electricity to power almost 1 million homes.
Mr Budge has proposed to build the plant in two phases, starting with a conventional gas-fired station which could then be converted to the use of coal gasification technology, in which coal from the colliery would be turned into gas with the carbon emissions stripped out for safe storage underground.
Energy minister Mike O’Brien granted approval for the first stage of the project although the government said further evidence would be needed to guarantee that the carbon could be stored safely before the second stage could be approved.
The first stage is expected to cost around £900 million with the second costing up to £1 billion.
If completed, the Hatfield plant would be the first and largest plant in the world equipped with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, which strips carbon dioxide from power-plant emissions and buries it deep underground in rock formations.
The decision was announced alongside approval for two other conventional gas-fired power stations - by Centrica at King’s Lynn in Norfolk and RWE N-Power at Pembroke in Wales.
The Centrica station will generate around 1000 megawatts of power while the N-Power station will provide around 2,000 megawatts.
In total the new plants will generate 4,000 megawatts of electricity or enough to supply 4 million homes.
“It is essential to replace older polluting power stations that are reaching the end of their lives with new stations that operate more efficiently,” said Mr O’Brien.
From The Times
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