SSE Thermal's Keadby site Credit: SSE
SSE flexible generation and energy storage arm brings Europe’s latest gas-fired power station on stream at its site in the Humber
SSE Thermal's Keadby 2 gas-fired power station in North Lincolnshire officially entered commercial operations yesterday, providing a boost to the UK's pipeline of carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects on the same day as the Chancellor unveiled plans to provide £20bn of funding over the next 20 years to support the nascent carbon capture industry.
Construction on the 893MW combined-cycle gas turbine station began in August 2018 with Siemens Energy partnering with SSE Thermal to deliver a plant that boasts efficiency of around 63 per cent, making it the most efficient plant of its type in the UK and Europe.
The 9000HL 50Hz turbine at the heart of Keadby 2 also features 3D printed components and has the ability to reach full power in 30 minutes. According to SSE, it has already been providing power to the grid during the commissioning phase but is now fully online.
The development of a new gas-fired power plant remains controversial with environmental groups, but SSE claims the new power station will help enable a just transition for workers and communities that historically relied on coal-power.
The company stressed that it is also working on plans to decarbonise the site through the potential use of hydrogen blending at Keadby 2 and plans with oil giant Equinor to develop Keadby 3, which would feature carbon capture technologies designed to ensure around 95 per cent of emissions do not enter the atmosphere.
The project received planning consent in December 2022 and is one of three power CCS projects shortlisted by government in its Cluster Sequencing Process.
The news comes as the government yesterday announced £20bn it to be made available to support new CCS capacity, with a shortlist of projects that will be eligible for initial funding set to be announced later this month.
Catherine Raw, managing director of SSE Thermal, said that Keadby 2 represents a huge step forward for flexible generation in the UK.
"As Europe's most efficient gas-fired power station, it will play a pivotal role in supporting security of supply and backing up renewables, while serving as a clear bridge to a low-carbon future in the Humber and beyond," she said. "We are already working with Siemens Energy on plans to blend hydrogen into Keadby 2, which would not only decarbonise the site further but also provide evidence for the potential role of hydrogen in large-scale flexible power generation more widely in the UK."
SSE Thermal and Siemans Energy are also developing a first-of-a-kind Aldbrough Hydrogen Pathfinder project in the Humber in a bid to combine hydrogen production, storage and power generation in one location by the middle of this decade.
The news also comes just days after the Climate Change Committee published a wide ranging new report on how the UK can meet its target to deliver a fully decarbonised power grid by 2035 in which it concluded the grid would be dominated by renewables, but hydrogen and CCS power stations were likely to be required to ensure grid stability.
