Prime Minister must decide on coal-fired power project

London - Medway Council, on 2 Jan, voted to raise no objection to granting planning for E.on UK plc to construct two coal-fired electricity generating units at Kingsnorth, near Rochester. The decision clears the way for the first coal-fired power station in the UK for 20 years - subject, however,  to UK government approval.

E.on said it plans to invest £1 billion in the project to replace the existing coal-fired units at the Kingsnorth power station. The two new high-efficiency units will use state-of-the-art technology to produce power from coal far more efficiently and far more cleanly than ever before in the UK, the company stated.

Rated at 800MW each, the units would be the UK's first supercritical coal-fired units and, claims E.on would be much more efficient than the existing units, leading to a reduction in carbon emissions of almost two million tonnes a year. The facilities, it added, will have carbon capture and storage (CCS) capabilities.

"If built, these units would be the first new coal build in the UK for over 20 years and could set a new benchmark for cleaner coal-fired generation in the UK," according to Adrian Smith, E.on project manager, commenting in a company press statement.  

For Tory-controlled Medway Council, Robin Cooper, director of regeneration and development said: “Councillors visited the site and carefully took into consideration all the issues before coming to a decision. It is now up to central government to decide whether to give consent for this power station.”

According to E.on the Kingsnorth plant will be built with the capability to retrofit CCS  system. The company said it is researching this technology, which it also proposes to use at its Killingholme power station. (E.on statement including animation of a pre-combustion clean coal system for a proposed IGCC (Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle) plant next to Killinghome Power Station).

Grenpeace, however, called on Gordon Brown to say no to new coal. They argue that CCS is an unproven technology that is unlikely to be viable for decades and suggest that technologies such as wave and windpower offer a viable alternative.
The new coal-fired plant, it stated, " will pump out 8.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year until, at some unspecified point in a few decades' time, a technology to capture and store carbon may or may not become viable.”

Likewise, Friends of the Earth energy campaigner, Robin Webster said: “If built, Kingsnorth power station will undermine the Governments commitment to meet European targets for producing twenty percent of energy from renewables by 2020. If it is serious about tackling climate change the Government must throw out this proposal and promote investment in clean and green alternatives.”