Why are three villages near Gainsborough known in China and America?

It’s because they lend their names to the three power stations that make up the “Trent Supercluster” – a 14-mile stretch of land which regional leaders and industry top dogs want to make the UK’s “Silicon Valley of green energy”.

Richard Grice, the Trent Supercluster programme director at the East Midlands Combined Authority (EMCCA), which coined the name of the area, said: “It’s the most exciting thing I’ve ever been involved in.”

He was speaking as part of a panel pitching the Supercluster to potential investors and businesspeople at the UK Real Estate, Infrastructure and Investment Forum (UKREiiF) in Leeds last month.

He said: “It will become the centre of clean energy innovation in the UK and in some cases globally. That’s certainly the aim. And our aim as the combined authority is to exploit that – in the best sense of the word – so that we maximise the benefits for local people.”

If you’ve never visited these power stations, and you don’t live near them, you’ll probably never have realised they’re there.

But those whose lives are based in or around this rural part of the world will be – or will have been – familiar with the imposing figures of the iconic cooling towers at each, looming over the countryside.

All three sites were once coal-fired power stations.

They produced energy – particularly, electricity – by burning coal.

The heat from the coal was used to boil water to create steam, which blew at high speeds to turn turbines and create energy through its movement.

But burning coal as a source was very bad for the environment, polluting the air and the atmosphere.

Over the last 20 years, the UK has been shutting down its coal-fired power stations all over the country.

But that doesn’t mean the sites are done for good, with most of them being repurposed into new power stations which generate energy in a more modern, environmentally friendly way.

The power stations at West Burton, Cottam and High Marnham will all eventually produce “green” energy – using, for example, nuclear, solar or wind power – that doesn’t contribute majorly to climate change, is made from renewable sources and produces little to no pollutants.

Cooling towers, though, which were used to let out the steam created from the coal-burning process, and were the defining image of a power station in the UK, are no longer needed.

As well as the other parts of coal-fired power stations which are no longer needed, they are being demolished (if they haven’t already been) nationally.

High Marnham’s came down in 2012, while Cottam’s were only blown up last August in a spectacular event watched by hundreds of mesmerised enthusiasts.

West Burton’s are set for demolition in or around 2028.

At the 800-acre West Burton site, furthest north, the focus will be on “fusion” energy – the energy that stars and the sun use to stay alive – being made through a process called STEP.

Cottam, also 800 acres in size, is mainly using nuclear energy and is also acting as a base for new AI data centres.

And the station at High Marnham – half the size at 400 acres, but still huge – is using hydrogen to produce energy.

Overall, the projects are estimated to likely create around 15,000 high-paying jobs, with the whole region redeveloped for potential employees through the planned construction of between 6,000 and 8,000 homes.

David Armiger, chief executive of Bassetlaw District Council, said: “To be the centre of the clean energy operation for this country is a fantastic opportunity that we’ve got to make sure we deliver on.

“It’s amazing going to conferences where people from China and America know where Bassetlaw is – when I’m sure if you go around here, half the people wouldn’t have a clue.”