It has been revealed that the Killingholme Low Carbon Power CCGT project is being studied by Uniper. The main focus is to determine the potential for developing this site, once the development rights have been bought.

So far, the project is following a plan to both develop and commission the consented CCGT power station. The intention behind developing this facility, would be for it to become capable of having a fast response to increases in demand for electricity, therefore playing a role in contributing towards the UK’s energy supply security.

Right now, Uniper has laid out their plans to develop proposals which will focus on installing carbon capture technology within the power station. The purpose of this would be to remove the CO2 emissions that would potentially be produced throughout the electricity generation process. On top of this, the development has the potential to connect into nearby CO2 transport and storage infrastructure. If this occurred, it would then become possible to transport the captured carbon dioxide safely to permanent offshore storage facilities, which are located in repurposed depleted gas fields.

Within this project, the proposed carbon capture technology would be created at the same time as the consented CCGT power station. However, in order for this part of the project to go ahead, the company needs to have separate planning permission approved and the technical solution also needs to be agreed. Altogether, this would include the carbon dioxide pipeline transport route, as well as the permanent offshore storage location which would be used for the captured CO2. Further to this, the proposals will be shared with local communities, as well as stakeholders and once this stage is complete, the planning application will then be submitted later on in 2025.

A huge benefit of this project, is that it would be possible for the new power station and the proposed carbon capture technology to be delivered by 2030. Accomplishing this would mean that the project would be able to contribute towards the UK Government's ambition around Great Britain achieving a clean power system, whilst simultaneously providing a safe and secure source of electricity when required.

The entirety of this project aligns with the company’s recent purchase of land which is located right next to Uniper’s pre-existing power station site, which is located at Killingholme, right at the core of the Humber industrial region. The land that has now been purchased from C.GEN Killingholme Ltd comes along with planning consent, which covers the development of a new modern combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power station.

Once this part of the project is completed, the next steps will be focused on developing a detailed design, which will be used when it comes to determining the precise technology which may be installed at the new power station. Right now the project is only in the early stages and final capacity will only be determined once the Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) studies are completed. These studies are due to commence throughout 2025. It has been made clear that once it becomes operational, the power station would be able to supply a capacity of a minimum of 470MW, which is the right amount of electricity to power an estimated 1.1 million homes on an annual basis.

Uniper UK Country Chair, Mike Lockett, commented, “The purchase of land and development rights for this new gas-fired power station combined with our plans to integrate carbon capture technology, is a significant step forward in our broader commitment to invest €8 billion into growth and transformation projects by the early 2030s.”

Lockett continued, "Investing in developing new flexible and efficient generation like the Killingholme Low Carbon Power project, will not only contribute towards a secure energy supply and support the UK's transition to a lower carbon future, but has the potential to bring economic benefits to the Humber region, including the creation of new skilled technical jobs.”