Fourth unit of 4 GW coal-fired power station in England switched to biomass

Subscribe to our newsletter and get the latest news and business opportunities in your inbox
Fourth unit of 4 GW coal-fired power station in England switched to biomass

This article is part of a daily series of IPP articles. If you want to know more about the latest power generation projects globally visit our IPP Today section. You can receive them by email on a daily basis.

Drax Group has announced that it has switched on its fourth biomass generating unit at Drax power station. Located in North Yorkshire, north-east England, the 3,906 MW power station was designed to accommodate six 660 MW coal-fired units, which were brought online between 1973 and 1986.

Having upgraded three of its coal units to use biomass between 2013 and 2016, Drax is already the biggest decarbonisation project in Europe. The conversion of a fourth unit means it is on course to be off coal before the UK government’s 2025 deadline.

Work got under way on the conversion as part of a planned maintenance programme in June, with Drax’s team of engineers completing the work required, on schedule, in just over two months. To convert the unit the project team has re-used some redundant infrastructure left from when the company was first co-firing biomass with coal on a large scale, around eight years ago.

The cost of conversion of the fourth generating unit is significantly below the level of previous conversions, at around GBP30 million (US$38.7 million).

Drax has already invested around GBP700 million (~US$900 million) in upgrading the first three units and associated supply chain infrastructure to use sustainable biomass  in the form of compressed wood pellets instead of coal.

Drax is working to replace the remaining two coal-fired units of the power station with gas-fired power generating units. The Combined Cycle Gas Turbines it is looking to develop could deliver up to 3.6 GW of capacity, as well as up to 200 MW of battery storage.

Drax’s plans for the gas project have been submitted to the UK's Planning Inspectorate, which accepted the application for examination. The proposals will now be examined by the Planning Inspectorate and then considered by the Secretary of State for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy with a decision expected in 2019.

List of country news

Country news

  • August 06, 2018

    L&G approves US$260 million financing for gas pipeline in Northern Ireland

    Mutual Energy has secured GBP200 million (US$260.0 million) financing from Legal & General to cover construction costs of the Gas to the West project. This involves the delivery of an 80km extension to the existing gas network in Northern Ireland through a mainly underground pipeline running from Portadown to (near) Enniskillen.

    Read more
  • July 13, 2018

    FCC refinances two EfW plants in the UK for US$275 million

    FCC has secured GBP207.3 million (US$275.5 million) senior long term investment grade debt to refinance two energy from waste (EfW) assets in the United Kingdom: the Allington plant in Kent and Eastcroft facility in Nottingham.

    Read more
  • July 10, 2018

    US$3 billion final close for Macquarie Super Core Infrastucture Fund Series 1

    Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) has announced the final close of Macquarie Super Core Infrastructure Fund (MSCIF) Series 1 at EUR2.5 billion (US$2.94 million), exceeding the fund's initial minimum target of EUR1.5 billion (US$1.76 million).

    Read more
  • June 27, 2018

    UK government refuses to back US$1.7 billion tidal lagoon

    The Business and Energy Secretary, Greg Clark, of the UK government has announced that the proposed Swansea Bay tidal lagoon, which would generate 320 MW of electricity and cost GBP1.3 billion (US$1.71 billion) to develop, does not meet the department's requirements for value for money, and so the government will not grant any public funds to the project.

    Read more
  • June 11, 2018

    Impax closes New Energy Investors III at US$420 million

    Impax Asset Management Group Plc has announced the close of its third private equity infrastructure fund at EUR357 million (US$420.1 million)Impax New Energy Investors III (NEFIII) is focussed on investments in renewable power generation and related assets in Europe.

    Read more

Share this news

Join us

In order to get full access to News section, you must have a full subscription. You can check all the benefits of becoming a member and purchase a subscription on our membership page.