Consent sought for power station demolition works

Planning consent is being sought for the demolition of a West Yorkshire power station, which is set to make way for a new multi-fuel plant.SSE Generation, supported by planning consultancy DWD, has applied to Wakefield Council for a determination on whether prior approval is required for the demolition of the Ferrybridge C Power Station and its associated infrastructure.Construction of Ferrybridge C in Knottingley began in 1962 and it began supplying energy to the National Grid in 1966. It comprised four coal-fired boiler units, each with a generating capacity of up to 500 megawatts (MW).Operator SSE, which took ownership in 2004, ceased generating electricity at the plant in March 2016 and began a programme of decommissioning.SSE previously submitted a similar application in July 2017, prior to the appointment of a demolition contractor, but this was withdrawn following discussions with the council until further information could be provided.The company has submitted the new application following the appointment of Keltbray as demolition contractor. The two companies have set out details of the proposed demolition as well as the impacts of the works.SSE has previously set out plans to develop its Multifuel 2 (FM2) project on the Ferrybridge ‘C’ Power Station site.The proposed plant would be able to generate around 70MW of electricity, enough to power about 170,000 homes. Construction could support more than 500 jobs.The Ferrybridge 1 multi-fuel plant previously became operational in 2015.