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.
| Sutton Bridge Power Station | |
|---|---|
 Sutton Bridge power station | |
 | |
| Country | England |
| Location | Lincolnshire, East Midlands |
| Coordinates | 52°45′26″N 0°11′35″E / 52.7572°N 0.19316°E |
| Status | Mothballed |
| Commission date | May 1999 |
| Decommission date | August 2020 |
| Operator | General Electric |
| Thermal power station | |
| Primary fuel | Natural gas |
| External links | |
| Commons | Related media on Commons |
grid reference TF480199 | |
History
editIt 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
editThe 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.
References
edit- ^ "Turbine and Generator Installations". Atlantic Projects Company. Archived from the original on 26 August 2007.
- ^ a b Teather, David (1 September 1999). "US utility Enron puts Sutton Bridge powerplant up for sale". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- ^ "London Electricity Buys Sutton Bridge Power Station". EDF Energy. 9 March 2000. Archived from the original on 20 March 2006.
- ^ a b Williams, Holly (22 December 2008). "EDF to sell two power stations". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022.
- ^ "EDF sells UK Sutton Bridge power station to Macquarie-led group". Reuters. 12 December 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
- ^ "GE to upgrade Calon Energy's 800MW Sutton Bridge power plant in UK". power-technology.com. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 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.
- ^ "Macquarie considering sale of Calon Energy plants". Financial Times.
- ^ Collingridge, John (22 April 2018). "Macquarie weighs up sale of Calon Energy power stations". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
- ^ Kirong, Nephele (25 June 2020). "UK gas plant operator Calon Energy enters administration – BBC News". S&P Global Market Intelligence. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
- ^ "Calon Energy's administrators put two power plants in 'dormant state'". BBC News. 24 August 2020.
- ^ Brookes, Andrew (8 April 2022). "Mothballed Sutton Bridge Power Station would take at least four months to become operational again". Spalding Today. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
- ^ "9F gas turbine". GE Gas Power. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- ^ "GE Upgrades to UK Power Plant to Help Increase the Site's Energy Output and Competitiveness While Reducing Costs". General Electric. 11 August 2015. Archived from the original on 25 August 2020.
- ^ "N.E.M. Group". Archived from the original on 7 July 2003.
External links
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