Uskmouth Power Station

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Uskmouth Power Station
Uskmouth B Power Station
Uskmouth Power Station shown within the United Kingdom
OS grid reference	ST328838
Operator:	Welsh Power
Fuel:	Coal-fired 360MW Biomass

'Uskmouth Power Station or Uskmouth Power is a coal fired and biomass power station at Uskmouth near the city of Newport, South Wales in the United Kingdom. In May 2007, it was recorded to have a generating capacity of 393MW, which is enough power to supply Newport and it's surrounding area with energy. It is concidered to be one of the cleanest coal-fired plants in the UK. The site used to be made up of two power stations, Uskmouth A and Uskmouth B, but Uskmouth A was demolished in the 1990's and Uskmouth B was refurbished in 1998 to extend its life by about 25 years. The plant is fitted with Flue Gas Desulphurisation and low NOx burners, and meets EU requirements aimed at reducing emissions from coal plants. In addition to this, Uskmouth Power now uses biomass fuels as well as coal to produce ‘green energy’. Biomass fuel equates for up to 10% of the fuel used in the station.
There are plans to build another power station on the site. If built the station would be called Severn Power.

1 History
2 Trivia
3 References
4 External links

[edit] History

Uskmouth has been home to a coal-fired power station since the early 1950s. The A station was built in the early 1950s and stayed in operation for 30 years but has since been closed and demolished. The currently used B station was built in the early 1960s. Both stations were originally operated by the Central Electricity Generating Board but when the CEGB was denationalised in the early 1990s, the ownership of the Uskmouth site was transferred to National Power. By this time the A station had already ceased generation, and the relatively small B station was sold. Changes in environmental legislation made further investment impossible at that time. Elsewhere, the main investment in power industry was going into gas-fired, rather than coal-fired, power stations. This trend was known as the 'dash for gas'. The sale of Uskmouth B was unreserved with no restrictions on the future use of the site, and the A station was demolished to make way for further development.

Uskmouth A Power Station

The B station had been well-maintained, but it needed refurbishment and investment in environmental improvements to meet new legislative requirement. A local coal producer took up the option to buy the station and undertook a feasibility study, they decided not to proceed because the cost of achieving new plant environmental compliance was too high. Then an overseas company that had been hoping to invest in a gas-fired power station took up the challenge after the Government imposed a moratorium on gas plants. An investment of £120 million was required to refurbish the plant and install new environmental equipment.
The work was completed and the station fully commissioned in early 2001, making it the cleanest coal-fired power station in the UK. Unfortunately the station went into receivership after only a year of commercial operation. During the period of care and maintenance that followed, the station conducted a short period of running in the winter of 2003-2004.
Later in 2004 Carron Energy purchased the station and site, which now successfully provides enough electricity to supply Newport and its surrounding area, and continues to be one of the cleanest of its kind in the UK.