Wednesday 9 December 2015

Tata wins approval for power plant at Port Talbot

The UK Government has granted permission for a new power plant to be built at Port Talbot Steelworks.

Tata Steel’s project comprises of a gas-fired power station including two new boilers and two new steam turbine sets with a capacity of up to 150MW.

It will use gases produced by the steelmaking process to generate power.

The company’s application was accepted for examination in September last year and approved by DECC yesterday.

Mark Southgate, Acting Chief Operating Officer at the Planning Inspectorate said: “The decision follows an examination process completed within the statutory timescales laid down in The Planning Act 2008 and is the 29th energy project examined by the Planning Inspectorate to gain development consent.”

Earlier this year Tata Steel said nearly 1,200 jobs will be lost in the UK amid high power prices.

Last month Energy Secretary Amber Rudd announced coal will be replaced with gas-fired power stations as part of the UK's new strategy.