Scottish and Southern Energy plc ("SSE") has entered into an agreement with Mitsui Babcock, Siemens and UK Coal to undertake the engineering design of a carbon capture ready 500MW cleaner coal plant at Ferrybridge Power Station.

The development of the plant would involve the ‘retrofit’ of a 500MW Supercritical Boiler and turbine providing a thermal cycle efficiency of more than 45%, which would be the first of its kind in the UK. It would be made ‘capture ready’ to facilitate the subsequent deployment of post-combustion carbon dioxide capture equipment. Typical conventional coal-fired power stations have a thermal efficiency of around 36%.

As the UK Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks stated in April 2006: "Coal and other fossil fuels remain vital ingredients in our energy mix, but we need to reduce the impact that burning them has on our environment." In this context, the development would represent a significant step forward in the provision of de-carbonised electricity in the UK.

On completion, the installation of the supercritical plant would save around 500,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year compared with a conventional plant, which is equivalent to developing 230MW of wind farm capacity. The subsequent deployment of carbon capture equipment would save a further 1.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, equivalent to almost 800MW of wind farm capacity.

High-level engineering feasibility studies into the project have already been completed. The partners will now carry out further detailed front-end engineering design work with the aim of confirming the viability of the scheme. This work is expected to be complete within the next year. This will allow investment decisions to be taken during 2007. Subject to that, the supercritical plant could be in commercial operation in 2011/12.

Installation of the supercritical plant is estimated to require an investment by SSE of around £250m and the post-combustion carbon dioxide capture equipment is estimated to require a further investment by SSE of around £100m. SSE would own and operate the supercritical plant and the carbon capture equipment, if deployed.

The project will also examine the opportunities for securing supplies of fuel for the station from coal in the UK, such as that mined at Kellingley.

I am pleased that Scottish and Southern Energy are willing to invest in the long term future of the power station, we will all benefit from reduced pollution and safeguarded jobs, on the face of it, it sounds like good news for local jobs and the environment, I did ask whether work would be taking place at the same time as the FGD installation and was assured it would not as FGD would be completed before work started on this and impact on local residents from construction traffic would be minimal and no more than a current boiler refit would be although it may take a little longer.