August 17, 2020 4.12 pm This story is over 43 months old

Major Immingham energy plans powered up

Gas power plant to provide backup for renewables

A major new power station development in Immingham, which will feed up to 299MW of extra energy into the grid, has been approved.

VPI Immingham has been given permission by the government’s planning inspectorate to build a new Open Cycle Gas Turbine power station next to its existing Roster Road site.

Bosses predict it will create up to 150 construction jobs and 15 new roles as well as additional opportunities for local businesses and supply-chain.

The new build will increase VPI Immingham’s output to 1,240MW – around 2.5% of the UK’s peak electricity demand.

It will mean the company will be able to respond quickly to shortfalls on the grid, said bosses.

They added that it would also backup wind and solar electricity and help the UK move towards a more sustainable energy system and reduce carbon targets.

A CGI image of the proposed station.

Project Development Engineer David Theakstone said: “We are very pleased that the VPI Immingham OCGT power plant was granted development consent by the Secretary of State.

“The […] project, which can deliver large amounts of electricity very quickly, will aid the transition to a low carbon future by complementing and providing backup for other intermittent sources of electricity, such as wind and solar, whilst also fulfilling the more general role of helping to maintain grid system stability in the UK.”

It will also provide backup for wind and solar electricity sources, helping the UK move towards a more sustainable energy system while contributing to the government’s carbon reduction targets.

North Lincolnshire Council leader Councillor Rob Waltham said: “We warmly welcome this news, which signals a significant investment in North Lincolnshire from VPI Holdings.

“This is a major development that will bring scores of new jobs to the region and make a very real contribution to the local economy.”

The facility will be operational by 2023, and construction will start early next year.