Eggborough Power Station closure fears

Seven hundred jobs are at risk amid fears that Eggborough Power Station may be forced to close by the end of 2015, after the Government confirmed it would NOT fund plans to convert the coal-fired plant to green energy production.

The Energy Secretary announced that only ten green projects would get funding and Eggborough was not on the list.

Gaynor Barnes talks to Paul Cook from Eggborough Power Limited, Operations Officer Paul Tomlinson and Energy Minister Michael Fallon in her report.

Bosses at Eggborough Power Station have today revealed that the decision by the Government not to fund a conversion to biomass burning will mean the plant will close by 2015.

The coal fired station which currently generates 4% of the UK’s capacity was due to undertake a full modernisation including a complete conversion to renewable biomass.

But following the Government's confirmatiuon that it would not fund the conversion, which was due to start on January 6 , 2014, a £17m contract with supply partners for preliminary work on the conversion project that was due to be signed today has been suspended pending further developments.

Eggborough bosses have also announced that work due to start next year to keep its number 2 generating unit online will not now go ahead. The consequence is that Unit 2 would no longer be operational from September 2014, removing 1% capacity from the UK electricity grid.

In addition Eggborough’s management now believes that the plant will no longer be supplying power to the grid beyond 2015.

Eggborough Chief Executive Neil O’Hara said: **“Unless a viable solution is found with Government, the most likely outcome now is that Eggborough will no longer be supplying electricity to the grid beyond 2015.

Impending EU regulation and the escalating impact of the carbon price floor mean this is unfortunately the rational economic conclusion based on the information we have available at this time.”

Seven hundred jobs are at risk amid fears that Eggborough Power Station may be forced to close by the end of 2015 after the Government today confirmed it would not fund plans to convert the coal-fired plant to green energy production.

In a written statement the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Edward Davey revealed the ten energy projects which would get Government funding and Eggborough was not on the list.

This was despite Selby MP Nigel Adams making a last ditch appeal to the Government to get funding to convert the North Yorkshire plant to burning biomass..