Alstom has been awarded a contract worth approximately €1bn by RWE npower plc for the design and construction of a full turnkey, gas-fired combined-cycle power plant in Pembrokeshire, Wales. With an output of approximately
2,000MW, the new plant will be the biggest and one of the most efficient of its kind in the UK, capable of supplying power to around three million homes.
The new plant will be built on the site of the previous oil-fired power station. It will include five Alstom GT26 turbines and accompanying core components* supplied by Alstom. It will offer high load flexibility while maintaining low emissions and high efficiency. The plant will be able to be run as efficiently at low load as at full capacity during peak hours, allowing the operator to respond to fluctuating energy demands. It will be among the most efficient of its kind.
Approximately 40% of the UK energy fleet was built before 1975 and will need replacement in the short to medium term. The Pembroke power plant is part of RWE npower's plan to renew its power generation fleet with new, more efficient and more environmentally friendly power plants.
"This new project clearly demonstrates Alstom's engineering expertise is crucial to the power industry in the UK, and around the world. This is the second contract signed by Alstom with RWE npower in less than 2 years, which underlines our customer's confidence in our engineering ability," said Philippe Joubert, president of Alstom Power.
This project is the second one that Alstom has signed with RWE npower in the UK, following the contract won in 2007 for the gas-fired 1,650 MW Staythorpe power plant, currently under construction in Nottinghamshire. In addition to the Staythorpe power plant, Alstom is also building in the UK the Centrica's Langage and E.On's Grain power plants.
Including the Pembroke plant, these four power plants will add close to 6GW of new electrical power to the UK grid.
