18 July 2006
Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) is to build a new gas-fired power station near Southampton with a capacity to supply one million homes with electricity.
The new facility, which is a joint venture along with Irish energy firm ESBI, will have an installed capacity of around 850MW.
Both companies will acquire 50% of the shares in the power plant, planned for Marchwood. The total project cost is estimated to be around £400 million.
Construction work is expected to start early in 2007, with the power station being fully commissioned before the winter of 2009.
It will have one of the highest thermal efficiencies of any power station in the UK and in a typical year will meet the electricity requirements of around one million homes.
"There is a clear consensus that the UK will need a significant amount of new electricity generation capacity over the next 15 years. At SSE, we have long recognised that adding to our leading-edge generation portfolio is a key means of helping to deliver reliable energy supplies," said Ian Marchant, SSE's chief executive.
In May, SSE said that it would be developing cleaner coal at Ferrybridge and has ongoing work with renewable energy sources.
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