The Government's deadline for a decision on another power plant in Nottinghamshire is looming

EDF Energy has developed proposals for a new gas-fired peaking plant power station of up to 299 megawatts (MW) at the existing West Burton Power Station site, known as West Burton C.

Peaking power stations are used to provide electricity at times of peak demand and play an important role when wind and solar power are not available.

The West Burton power stations are a pair of power stations on the River Trent near Gainsborough.

One is a coal-fired power station, which was commissioned in 1967, and the second is a combined cycle gas turbine power station, commissioned in 2013. Both stations are owned and operated by EDF Energy.

A spokesman from EDF Energy said: "EDF's focus in the UK is building and operating low carbon renewables and nuclear power.

"We're currently the largest producer of low carbon electricity in the country and helping Britain achieve net zero.

"We're seeking development consent to build an OCGT peaking plant of up to 299MW at our West Burton site in North Nottinghamshire but will only proceed with construction if it is in line with the UK's decarbonisation strategy."

The station has been accredited as an Investor in People since 1995 and ISO accredited (ISO 14001) for its environmental management system since 1996.

The power station won a RoSPA President's Award in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

The site is the furthest north of what was a series of power stations in the Trent valley, being 3.5 miles (5.6 km) downstream of the now-closed Cottam power stations.

The power station is one of three coal-fired generators left in England.

The proposal for this new plant started back in 2017 and consultations with the public took place.

EDF Energy submitted its application for development consent to the Secretary of State on April 30, 2019.

The Examining Authority issued a recommendation report to the Secretary of State on July 21, 2020 and the Secretary of State has until October 21, in which to issue a decision.

If the plant is approved, construction has been estimated to be completed within three to four years, with an average of 95 construction staff working on the site per day.

The construction workforce could peak at 200 workers a day, with the most workers expected during the third year of construction.

And once the plant is operational it is expected to be in service for 40 years.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.

Thank you

Nancy Fielder, editor