Energy: Key Regional Assets
Power Stations
The Northwest is home to five power stations:
Fiddlers Ferry in Warrington, Heysham 1 and Heysham 2 Nuclear Power
Stations and two gas-fired stations at Roosecote and
Rocksavage.
Fiddlers Ferry is a 1989MW coal power station
with biomass co-firing. The power station was fitted with Flue Gas
Desulphurisation (FGD) plant in 2008 to reduce sulphur emissions by
94%, meeting the European Large Combustion Plant directive.
Heysham 1 is a 1160 MW nuclear power station
with two advanced gas-cooled reactors – which were completed in
1983 and 1984. Heysham 2 is a 1230 MW nuclear power station with
two advanced gas-cooled reactor – which were completed in 1988.
Nuclear Fuel Manufacture & Uranium
Enrichment
Springfields plant was the first plant in the
world to produce fuel for a commercial power station. Located near
Preston, the plant handles ground, treated and purified uranium
ore, which arrives at the plant as uranium trioxide. The uranium
trioxide is passed through a number of chemical processes that
change it to uranium tetrafluoride, before following different
processes depending on the type of fuel being made.
Urenco UK is the UK’s only uranium enrichment
plant. Located in Capenhurst, the site operates three plants
producing 5.000 tSW/a enriched uranium to enable nuclear power
stations around the world to generate electricity. The site employs
over 300 people and provides the local community with long-term
employment in a technical environment, as well as providing
opportunities for young people wanting to pursue a career in
science or engineering.
Nuclear Waste Processing
Sellafield Ltd is responsible for safely
delivering decommissioning, reprocessing, nuclear waste management
and fuel manufacturing activities on behalf of the Nuclear
Decommissioning Authority. Based across several sites in Cumbria
and Cheshire, Sellafield Ltd has the largest concentration of
nuclear expertise in Europe.
Wind Farms
The Northwest is home to 184MW of onshore wind
and 180MW of offshore wind.
England’s largest wind farm, Scout Moor is an
onshore wind farm situated on the moors between Rawtenstall and
Rochdale. The site generates 65MW of electricity from 26 wind
turbines, generating 154,000MWh of electricity a year, preventing
the release of 160,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide into the
atmosphere.
There are currently two operational offshore
wind farms in the region – Burbo Bank and Barrow Offshore. A
further 90MW is under construction at Solway Firth; 450MW consented
for Walney; and 150MW consented for Ormonde.
Burbo Bank is a typical example of an offshore
wind farm and consist of 25 wind turbines situated on the Burbo
Flats in Liverpool Bay at the entrance to the River Mersey.