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SSE will return the second of two coal-fired generation units damaged earlier this year in a blaze by early 2015.
The generator will return the 490MW Ferrybridge unit earlier than expected at a reduced rate of 400MW, but the additional capacity is expected to help ease the UK’s constrained supply margins predicted for this winter.
The Ferrybridge plant sustained significant damage in late July this year as a result of a fire, cutting two generating units from service. At the same time a flurry of outages at EDF Energy’s nuclear fleet caused expected winter supply margins to half of what was anticipated in July this year.
SSE said it is able to return the plant to service after the Environment Agency agreed that the plant is allowed to run without its Flue Gas Desulpherisation (FGD) absorbers which are used to reduce sulphur dioxide.
The EA, which enforces compliance with emissions legistlation has agreed that the plant can run provided that the existing emissions limits set out in the station’s permit are unchanged and that Unit 4 can only be operated in conjunction with Unit 3.
If SSE breaches the terms of this agreement it will be forced to remove the unit from service.
The UK’s tightening supply margins also received a boost following news from EDF Energy that its nuclear units will return in early winter at slightly reduced capacity, and news that the Eggborough coal-fired power plant will run 500MW more capacity than initially expected.
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