Siemens to upgrade turbines at 4 GW power station in the UK

Drax Power has signed a new GBP40 million (US$52 million) contract with Siemens for the upgrade of turbines on three of the biomass units at its 3,906 MW power station in North Yorkshire, located in the north-east of England. The upgrades will deliver efficiencies, as well as maintenance savings, which will cut the cost of biomass electricity production at the plant.

The work, which starts in 2019, will take three years to complete, with one biomass unit being upgraded each year as part of its planned major overhaul. The efficiencies will be gained by fitting new, high tech pipework and valves, with new high efficiency blading and long life seals within the turbines on biomass units 1, 2 and 3.

Drax has upgraded three of the six coal units that originally comprised the power station to run on biomass with a fourth unit currently being converted – due to return to service later in the summer. It also plans to repower its remaining two coal units to use gas and develop up to 200 MW of battery storage. This Europe’s biggest decarbonisation project, and has made the power station the UK’s largest single site renewable power generator.