Sutton Bridge Power Station Explained

Sutton Bridge Power Station
Coordinates:52.7572°N 0.1932°W
Country:England
Location:Lincolnshire, East Midlands
Status:M
Operator:General Electric
Th Fuel Primary:Natural gas
Commissioned:May 1999
Decommissioned:August 2020

Sutton Bridge Power Station is an 819 MW gas-fired power station in Sutton Bridge in the south-east of Lincolnshire in South Holland, England. It is situated on Centenary Way close to the River Nene. It is a major landmark on the Lincolnshire and Norfolk border and on clear days with its bright red lights it can be easily seen as far away as Hunstanton.

History

It was built by Enron at a cost of £337 million in May 1999 trading under the name of Sutton Bridge Power. It was constructed by Enron Engineering & Construction and designed by Stone & Webster with help from Atlantic Projects in building the steam turbine.[1] In September 1999, it put the plant up for sale as the cost of electricity had plummeted, being uneconomic to generate.[2] Enron already had another large CCGT power station on Teesside (which was the largest in Europe at that time).

In March 2000, the plant was bought by London Electricity, a division of EDF Energy for £156 million.[3] The plant employs thirty five people and is run by General Electric International. The power plant has the capacity to supply 2% of the electricity for England and Wales.[4] [2]

Since September 2001, it has had a visitor centre for school children. When driving nearby to the north on the A17, the landmark is a dividing point between Lincolnshire and Norfolk.

EDF Energy announced in 2008 that it would sell Sutton Bridge to overcome objections to its takeover of British Energy.[4] A consortium led by Macquarie Group purchased the site in 2012 for an undisclosed sum,[5] and General Electric were appointed to operate and maintain the plant in 2013.[6]

Macquarie later spunout the power plant owning part of the business as Calon Energy in 2015.[7] In April 2018, Macquarie was reported to be considering selling Calon Energy, including the Sutton Bridge plant.[8] However, it was still the owner at the time Calon Energy went into administration in June 2020.[9]

In August 2020, it was reported that the plant was to be mothballed following Calon Energy entering administration.[10] As of April 2022, the plant remained inactive, with "at least four months" worth of work reportedly required in order to bring it back to operational condition.[11]

Specifications

The power station is a CCGT type, with two General Electric Frame 9 (9FA+)[12] gas turbines powered with natural gas.[13]

The exhaust gas heats a heat recovery steam generator, made by the Dutch company Standard Fasel Lentjes which was bought by NEM,[14] which powers a GE 280 MW steam turbine. The electrical generators were also built by GE, which connect to the National Grid at 400 kV.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Turbine and Generator Installations. https://web.archive.org/web/20070826162221/http://www.atlanticprojects.com/experience.html. 2007-08-26. Atlantic Projects Company.
  2. News: Teather. David. US utility Enron puts Sutton Bridge powerplant up for sale . 29 October 2021. The Guardian. 1 September 1999.
  3. News: London Electricity Buys Sutton Bridge Power Station. 9 March 2000. EDF Energy. https://web.archive.org/web/20060320113206/http://www.edfenergy.com/html/showPage.do?name=edfenergy.media.archive.item.til&cmsPage=/opencms/export/www.edfenergy.com/media/archive/20000309.html. 20 March 2006.
  4. News: EDF to sell two power stations. https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220525/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/edf-to-sell-two-power-stations-1207904.html . 25 May 2022 . subscription . live. The Independent. 22 December 2008. Holly. Williams.
  5. News: EDF sells UK Sutton Bridge power station to Macquarie-led group. Reuters. 12 December 2012. 12 November 2023.
  6. Web site: GE to upgrade Calon Energy’s 800MW Sutton Bridge power plant in UK. power-technology.com. 12 August 2015. 12 November 2023. GE has been responsible for the operation and maintenance (O&M) of the power station under a multiyear services agreement from 2013..
  7. News: Macquarie considering sale of Calon Energy plants. Financial Times. subscription.
  8. News: Collingridge. John. Macquarie weighs up sale of Calon Energy power stations. The Sunday Times. subscription. 22 April 2018. 12 November 2023.
  9. Web site: Kirong. Nephele. UK gas plant operator Calon Energy enters administration – BBC News . S&P Global Market Intelligence. 25 June 2020. 12 November 2023.
  10. News: Calon Energy's administrators put two power plants in 'dormant state'. 24 August 2020. BBC News.
  11. News: Brookes. Andrew. Mothballed Sutton Bridge Power Station would take at least four months to become operational again. Spalding Today. 8 April 2022. 12 November 2023.
  12. Web site: 9F gas turbine . GE Gas Power. 29 October 2021.
  13. Web site: GE Upgrades to UK Power Plant to Help Increase the Site's Energy Output and Competitiveness While Reducing Costs. https://web.archive.org/web/20200825214702/https://www.ge.com/news/press-releases/ge-upgrades-uk-power-plant-help-increase-sites-energy-output-and-competitiveness. 2020-08-25. General Electric. 2015-08-11.
  14. Web site: N.E.M. Group. https://web.archive.org/web/20030707023630/http://www.nem-group.com/ . 7 July 2003.