Lynemouth Power Station - Future of The Station

Future of The Station

Following a visit to the station by Prime Minister Gordon Brown on 3 July 2009, it became apparent that Rio Tinto Alcan were hoping to be able to demonstrate Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology at the station in the future. However, due to the economic climate, Rio Tinto are not willing to commit the funding for the project themselves, and so are hoping to secure European Union funding available for demonstration of CCS technology. The investment required could be up to £1 billion, but if funding is secured, "pre-combustion" CCS technology would be installed. This would involve treating the coal prior to burning so that less CO₂ was produced, with any remaining CO₂ being pumped under the North Sea into an aquifer. In November 2009 it was announced that a variety of energy experts were preparing for the £1 billion bid to the Government for investment. The plans include a pipeline into the North Sea, and the upgrading of one of the station's generating sets from 140 MW to around 375 MW, to safeguard the supply of electricity to the aluminium smelter.

Despite these future plans, the station and smelter's futures are under threat. The European Commission (EC) claimed that Alcan is in breach of their operating license as the station has failed to "significantly reduce its emissions". The UK Government contested the allegations, as the power station and smelter combined provide 650 jobs and a contribution of £100,000,000 to the local economy, in an area heavily affected by the loss of traditional heavy industry. They lost the court case over it and on 22 April 2010, the European Court of Justice ruled that the plant was subject to the emission limit values of the European directive on Large Combustion Plants. As a consequence, the station has to have at least £200 million worth of adaptations made to it so that it conforms to the directive, or be shut down. A date has not yet been given for it to conform, but two options for saving the station are the CCS project, or a switch from coal to biomass as a fuel.

Lynemouth's future came further under threat in March 2011, following carbon cutting measures announced in the 2011 United Kingdom budget. The government's plans meant that the station would cost an extra £40 million a year, erasing Rio Tinto Alcan's profits on the station. This has made the station's operators consider the option of converting the power station to operate on biomass only to avoid the penalties. However, this conversion itself would cost £50 million and then using biomass instead of coal would cost an additional £170 million a year.