RWE Supply & Trading GmbH has reached an agreement on the sale of Lynemouth Power Limited (Lynemouth Power), which is operating Lynemouth power station, to EP UK Investments Limited (EP UK), a subsidiary of Energetický a prumyslový holding (EPH), a leading Central European energy group.
Lynemouth Power operates a 420 MW (gross capacity) coal fired station in the north east of the UK and has been working with contractors to design a technical solution for a full conversion of the power plant to run on biomass. Lynemouth Power received clearance from the European Commission on 1st December 2015 for its supporting Investment Contract (Contract for Difference) from the UK government.
Once the conversion is complete, the Lynemouth facility will have the capacity to generate 420 MW of electricity from wood pellets. The U.K. government intends to support the project in the form of a premium paid on top of the market price of the electricity generated, known as a Contract for Difference (CfD). The project will receive aid until 2027 and, according to U.K. estimates, will generate about 2.3 TWh of low-carbon electricity per year. The plant is due to use approximately 1.5 million metric tons of wood pellets per year, mainly sourced from the U.S., Canada and Europe.
On Dec. 22, the Lynemouth facility announced it had burnt its last coal.
“The ending of coal burn is undoubtedly a significant event in the stations 43 year history, Lynemouth has a tremendous workforce and we now look forward to an exciting future with the conversion to biomass generation,” said Vaun Campbell, managing director of the facility, in a statement released Dec. 22.
About EPH
EPH is a leading Central European energy group operating mainly in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Italy, UK, Hungary and Poland. It is a vertically integrated energy utility covering the complete value chain in the energy sector. It includes 40 companies operating in coal extraction, electricity and heat production from conventional and renewable sources, electricity and heat distribution, electricity and gas trading and supply to end users.
