Ferrybridge

Ferrybridge Power Station is situated on the River Aire, West Yorkshire. It is the third coal-fired power station to be built on the site since 1924 and is known as 'C' station.

• Information on the power station
• Proposed multi-fuel development
• Carbon Capture research and development trial

Multi-fuel proposal

SSE is seeking to develop a multi-fuel plant at its Ferrybridge Power Station in West Yorkshire. The proposed multi-fuel CHP facility will use a range of fuel sources, including biomass, waste-derived fuels and waste wood, to generate around 108MW of electricity. There will be no combustion of hazardous waste or treatment of waste at the facility.

We announced our plans for a multi-fuel combined heat and power (CHP) facility in February 2009 and since then we have been engaging with local residents, community organisations, elected representatives and government agencies to hear their views on the proposal in a wide-ranging consultation.

We are always reviewing the potential of our generation facilities and believe a multi-fuel CHP plant will be an innovative addition to our generating portfolio. It will also contribute to Yorkshire's vision for more sustainable development, the government’s policy to increase security of supply and provide employment opportunities both in construction and operation.

We have been listening carefully to feedback received since announcing our plans. Our exhibitions in March and September 2009 were well attended and a planning application was submitted in October 2009. The proposal will now be considered by the Department of Energy and Climate Change and a decision is expected within the next twelve months.

Project fact sheet
 Question and answer factsheet (February 2010) (626 KB)

Environmental information on this project:
 Environmental Statement - Volume I (November 2009) (1.81 MB)
 Environmental Statement non-technical summary (November 2009) (7 MB)
 Particulates and Health Note Briefing (November 2009) (28 KB)

Statutory notification of Section 36 application:
 Section 36 Public Notice (November 2009) (11 KB)

Community consultation documents:
 Telephone survey results (September 2009) (6.71 MB)
 Public exhibitions advertisement (September 2009) (125 KB)
 Frequently asked questions (March 2009) (35 KB)

Others:
 Press release (February 2009)

Carbon Capture trial

SSE has recently been granted planning permission to trial carbon dioxide capture technology at Ferrybridge power station, in collaboration with Doosan Babcock and Vattenfall. The companies are investing a total of £21m, including £6.3m from DECC, the Technology Strategy Board and Northern Way. Construction work is under way, with the trial itself expected to commence in early 2011 and be complete by the end of 2012.

The scale of the project, with the equivalent five megawatts (MW) of coal-fired power generating capacity producing 100 tonnes of carbon dioxide per day, bridges the gap between the various laboratory-scale trials that are under way and the larger-scale projects envisaged by the UK government. The significance of the project lies in its scale, and its ability to demonstrate the operational characteristics of capture plant on an actual power station and the performance of the amine compound on real flue gas.

Development of viable CCS technology is central to the UK’s climate change and energy security objectives and SSE believes demonstration projects such as this and other CCS initiatives in which it is involved will be crucial in establishing when and how the technology can be developed. It is crucial that it should be. SSE also believes that, in practice, no new coal-fired power generation plant should be built in the UK without carbon dioxide abatement and that no unabated coal-fired plant should remain operational much beyond 2030. Enquiries relating to this project can be directed to Ross Easton, using the contact details at the bottom of this page.

Enquiries on these projects

Media enquiries
Ross Easton at SSE on 0845 0760 530

Supplying goods and services
Our communications team is unable to respond to speculative procurement enquiries. If you are interested in supplying goods and services to SSE, please refer to our FAQ.

Local interested parties
Ross Easton
Corporate Affairs
SSE | 55 Vastern Road, Reading, RG1 8BU

T: +44 (0)77678 51700
E: ross.easton@sse.com