A vacant land at South Humber Bank Power Station will see the arrival of a new multi-million pound energy centre. Set to create around 50 new jobs, the £300 million facility would generate 49.9MW of electrical power, which is the equivalent to supporting around 500,000 homes.

The planning application for the scheme has been submitted by EP UK Investments Ltd (EPUKI), which owns and operates South Humber Bank Power Station. The application was validated in December by North East Lincolnshire Council and a decision is due to be made by the end of March.

“We are very pleased to announce the proposed development of an Energy Centre at the South Humber Bank Power Station and it follows the completion of our recent £53 million investment in the existing site,” said James Crankshaw, head of engineering at EPUKI.

“The project is not dependent on securing a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) or other form of secured income such as a Contract For Difference (CFD) as other EFW projects have required and, as such, EPUKI expect to progress to the construction phase soon after planning is approved,” he added.

If the planning permission is granted, the South Humber Bank Energy Centre will be powered by approximately 620,000 tonnes of refuse-derived fuel annually.

“The Energy Centre will provide much needed new power generation and energy recovery facilities, as well as creating permanent local jobs. We look forward to working with the planning authority and local community over the coming months,” James concluded.

A subsidiary of Europe’s seventh biggest power generator EPH, EPUKI aquired in 2017 2.2GW of combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power stations from energy giant Centrica. Moreover, the firm put plans in place last year to boost its portfolio further by commissioning a new 420MW biomass power station at Lynemouth, Northumberland. EPUKI also has development consent to deliver up to 4.2GW of new build CCGTs in Eggborough and King’s Lynn.