Dash for Gas
Encyclopedia
The Dash for Gas was the significant shift by the newly privatized
electric companies
in the United Kingdom
towards generation of electricity using natural gas
during the 1990s
.
The key reasons for this shift were: (a) political: the privatisation of the UK electricity industry in 1990; the regulatory change that allowed gas to be used as a fuel for power generation; (b) economic: the high interest rate
s of the time, which favoured quick to build gas turbine
power station
s over the larger but slower-to-build coal
and nuclear power stations; the decline in wholesale gas prices; the desire by the Regional Electricity Companies to diversify their sources of electricity supply and establish foothold in the profitable generation market; (c) technical: advances in electricity generation technology (specifically Combined cycle
Gas Turbine generators (CCGT) with higher relative efficiencies and lower capital costs. An underpinning factor in the Dash for Gas was the recent development of North Sea gas.
As at the end of 2010, the dash for gas was the last major transformational change to have happened to the UK’s energy system. In 1990, gas turbine power stations comprised 5% of the UK's generating capacity, by 2002 the new CCGT power stations comprised 28% of UK generating capacity with gas turbines comprising a further 2%. It is estimated the Dash for Gas cost £11bn.
Gas-fired power stations with more than 30MW installed capacity commissioned between 1990 and 2002 are listed below.
Privatization
Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector or to private non-profit organizations...
electric companies
Electrical power industry
The electric power industry provides the production and delivery of electric energy, often known as power, or electricity, in sufficient quantities to areas that need electricity through a grid connection. The grid distributes electrical energy to customers...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
towards generation of electricity using natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
during the 1990s
1990s
File:1990s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope floats in space after it was taken up in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields and the USA Lexie in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; The signing of the Oslo Accords on...
.
The key reasons for this shift were: (a) political: the privatisation of the UK electricity industry in 1990; the regulatory change that allowed gas to be used as a fuel for power generation; (b) economic: the high interest rate
Interest rate
An interest rate is the rate at which interest is paid by a borrower for the use of money that they borrow from a lender. For example, a small company borrows capital from a bank to buy new assets for their business, and in return the lender receives interest at a predetermined interest rate for...
s of the time, which favoured quick to build gas turbine
Gas turbine
A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of internal combustion engine. It has an upstream rotating compressor coupled to a downstream turbine, and a combustion chamber in-between....
power station
Power station
A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....
s over the larger but slower-to-build coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
and nuclear power stations; the decline in wholesale gas prices; the desire by the Regional Electricity Companies to diversify their sources of electricity supply and establish foothold in the profitable generation market; (c) technical: advances in electricity generation technology (specifically Combined cycle
Combined cycle
In electric power generation a combined cycle is an assembly of heat engines that work in tandem off the same source of heat, converting it into mechanical energy, which in turn usually drives electrical generators...
Gas Turbine generators (CCGT) with higher relative efficiencies and lower capital costs. An underpinning factor in the Dash for Gas was the recent development of North Sea gas.
As at the end of 2010, the dash for gas was the last major transformational change to have happened to the UK’s energy system. In 1990, gas turbine power stations comprised 5% of the UK's generating capacity, by 2002 the new CCGT power stations comprised 28% of UK generating capacity with gas turbines comprising a further 2%. It is estimated the Dash for Gas cost £11bn.
Gas-fired power stations with more than 30MW installed capacity commissioned between 1990 and 2002 are listed below.
| Year of commission or year generation began | Power Station Name | Installed capacity, MW | Location (Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, or English region) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Roosecote Power Station Roosecote Power Station Roosecote Power Station is a gas-fired and former coal-fired power station, situated in the Roosecote district of Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria, North West England. The current gas-fired station was the first CCGT power station to supply electricity to the United Kingdom's National Grid.-Coal-fired... |
229 | North West England |
| 1992 | Teesside Power Station Teesside power station Teesside Power Station is a partially mothballed gas-fired power station, in Redcar & Cleveland, England. Situated near the Wilton chemical complex, the station has combined cycle gas turbines and open cycle gas turbines , however in 2011 the operation of the CCGT part of the station was suspended... |
1875 (210 after suspension in 2011) | North East England |
| 1993 | Glanford Brigg Power Station Glanford Brigg Power Station Glanford Brigg Power Station is a gas-fired power station in North Lincolnshire, England. It is capable of firing diesel as a substitute of natural gas. It is situated on the River Ancholme, beside the Sheffield to Lincoln Line, outside the town of Brigg, with its name coming from the former name... |
260 | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| 1993 | Killingholme Power Station B Killingholme Power Station Killingholme Power Station is the name given to two CCGT natural gas power stations near to East Halton and North Killingholme in North Lincolnshire; Killigholme B opened in 1993 and is owned by E.ON UK and Killingholme A opened in 1994 and is owned by Centrica.-900 MW plant:The E.ON UK... |
900 | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| 1993 | Peterborough Power Station Peterborough Power Station Peterborough Power Station is a 360MWe gas-fired power station at Eastern Industry, Fengate in the city of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire in the United Kingdom. It employs around forty people.... |
405 | East of England |
| 1993 | Rye House Power Station Rye House Power Station Rye House Power Station is a 715MW combined cycle gas turbine power station close to Rye House railway station in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire.-History:... |
715 | East of England |
| 1993 | Corby Power Station Corby Power Station Corby Power Station is a 350 MWe gas-fired power station on Mitchell Road off Phoenix Parkway in the north-east of Corby in Northamptonshire... |
401 | East Midlands |
| 1994 | Killingholme Power Station A Killingholme Power Station Killingholme Power Station is the name given to two CCGT natural gas power stations near to East Halton and North Killingholme in North Lincolnshire; Killigholme B opened in 1993 and is owned by E.ON UK and Killingholme A opened in 1994 and is owned by Centrica.-900 MW plant:The E.ON UK... |
665 | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| 1994 | Keadby Power Station Keadby Power Station Keadby Power Station is a 720MWe gas-fired power station near Scunthorpe in North Lincolnshire. It lies the B1392 and the River Trent, and the Scunthorpe-Grimsby railway... |
749 | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| 1994 | Barking Power Station Barking Power Station Barking Power Station refers to a series of power stations at former and current sites within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham in east London. The original power station site, of the coal-fired A, B and C stations, was at River Road, Creekmouth, on the north bank of the River Thames.... |
1000 | London |
| 1994 | Derwent Power Station Derwent Power Station Derwent Power Station is a 214MWe gas-fired power station on Holme Lane near Spondon in Derby, England. It is built on the site of the former Spondon Power Station-History:... |
228 | East Midlands |
| 1994 | Deeside Power Station Deeside Power Station Deeside Power Station is a 498 MWe gas-fired power on Weighbridge Road, near the A548, on the Deeside Industrial Park to the north of Connah's Quay in Flintshire, north Wales. It is north of the River Dee.-History:... |
500 | Wales |
| 1994 | Knapton Power Station | 40 | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| 1995 | Charterhouse St Power Station | 31 | London |
| 1995 | Fellside Power Station | 180 | North West England |
| 1995 | Little Barford Power Station Little Barford Power Station Little Barford Power Station is a 680MWe gas-fired power station just north of the village of Little Barford in Bedfordshire. It lies just south of the A428 St Neots bypass and east of the Wyboston Leisure Park. The River Great Ouse runs alongside.-History:It is built on the site of a former... |
665 | East of England |
| 1995 | Medway Power Station Medway Power Station Medway Power Station is a 688 megawatts gas-fired power station on the Isle of Grain in Medway next to the River Medway.- History :It is run by Scottish & Southern Energy under the name Medway Power Ltd. It was built by Marubeni , Tarmac and Kansas City-based Black & Veatch... |
688 | South East England |
| 1996 | Connah's Quay Power Station Connah's Quay Power Station Connah's Quay Power Station is a 1,420 MW gas-fired power station to the west of Connah's Quay in Flintshire in north Wales. It is next to the A548, being tightly situated between the road and the south bank of the River Dee.-History:... |
1380 | Wales |
| 1996 | South Humber Bank Power Station South Humber Bank Power Station South Humber Bank Power Station is a 1260MW gas-fired power station on South Marsh Road at Stallingborough in North East Lincolnshire of Healing and the A180 near the South Marsh Road Industrial Estate.... |
1285 | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| 1996 | Kings Lynn Power Station Kings Lynn Power Station King's Lynn Power Station is a Combined Cycle Gas power power station near King's Lynn in Norfolk owed by Centrica Energy which employs 40 people and can generate 325 MW of electricity.-History:... |
340 | East of England |
| 1998 | Barry Power Station Barry Power Station Barry Power Station is a 230MWe gas-fired power on Sully Moors Road in Sully in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. It is eight miles west of Cardiff and is next to a large Ineos Vinyls chemicals works that makes PVC and a Hexion Chemicals plant.-History:... |
230 | Wales |
| 1998 | Didcot B Power Station Didcot Power Station Didcot Power Station refers to a combined coal and oil power plant and a natural-gas power plant that supply the National Grid. They are situated immediately adjoining one another in the civil parish of Sutton Courtenay, next to the town of Didcot in Oxfordshire , in the UK... |
1430 | South East England |
| 1998 | Rocksavage Power Station Rocksavage Power Station Rocksavage Power Station is a 800MWe gas-fired power station on Cow Hey Lane near Runcorn just off the A557, at the junction of the River Weaver and River Mersey, and near junction 12 of the M56.-History:... |
810 | North West England |
| 1998 | Thornhill Power Station | 50 | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| 1998 | Seabank 1 Power Station Seabank Power Station Seabank Power Station is a 1,145 MW gas-fired power station at Hallen Marsh in Bristol, England. It is situated beside the A403 road and Severn Estuary, just north of Avonmouth and south of Severn Beach, close to the boundary with South Gloucestershire... |
812 | South West England |
| 1999 | Cottam Development Centre | 390 | East Midlands |
| 1999 | Sutton Bridge Power Station Sutton Bridge Power Station Sutton Bridge Power Station is a 790 MW gas-fired power station in Sutton Bridge in the south-east of Lincolnshire in South Holland, England. It is on Centenary Way to the River Nene.-History:... |
819 | East Midlands |
| 1999 | Enfield Power Station Enfield Power Station Enfield Power Station is a 408 MW gas-fired station, opened on part of the original Brimsdown Power Station site on at Brimsdown in the North London Borough of Enfield... |
408 | London |
| 1999 | Sandbach Power Station | 50 | North West England |
| 2000 | Damhead Creek Power Station Damhead Creek power station Damhead Creek power station is a 792 MWe gas-fired power station in Kent, England on the Hoo Peninsula.-History:The plant was commissioned by Entergy, an American power firm, and built by Raytheon Engineers and Constructor and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, who provided the gas turbine... |
800 | South East England |
| 2000 | Salt End Power Station | 1200 | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| 2000 | Seabank 2 Power Station Seabank Power Station Seabank Power Station is a 1,145 MW gas-fired power station at Hallen Marsh in Bristol, England. It is situated beside the A403 road and Severn Estuary, just north of Avonmouth and south of Severn Beach, close to the boundary with South Gloucestershire... |
410 | South West England |
| 2000 | Shoreham Power Station Shoreham Power Station Shoreham Power Station is a 400MWe combined cycle gas-fired power station in Southwick, West Sussex. It was built on the site of the Brighton A & B Power Stations. Predating these stations, town of Brighton has a long history of electrical supply.... |
400 | South East England |
| 2000 | Fife Power Station Fife power station Fife Power Station closed in March 2011.Fife Power Station was a 120 megawatt gas fired combined cycle gas turbine generating station at Cardenden in Fife, Scotland.... |
123 (before closed in March 2011) | Scotland |
| 2001 | Coryton Power Station Coryton Power Station Coryton Power Station is a 732 MW gas-fired power station named after the nearby Petroplus Coryton Refinery in Thurrock.-History:The site is run by Coryton Energy Ltd. It opened in 2002 and was built by Bechtel, is owned by Intergen, based in Burlington, Essex, and cost... |
753 | East of England |
| 2001 | Great Yarmouth Power Station Great Yarmouth Power Station Great Yarmouth Power Station is Combined Cycle Gas Turbine power station on South Denes Road in Great Yarmouth in Norfolk with a maximum output of 420MW electricity, opened in 2001. It is built on the site of an oil-fired power station, built in 1958 and closed and demolished in the 1990s... |
420 | East of England |
| 2001 | Shotton Power Station Shotton Power Station Shotton Combined Heat and Power Station is a 210 MWe gas-fired CHP power station in Flintshire, Wales.It is located on Weighbridge Road in Deeside, near the A548 in Shotton, Flintshire.-History:... |
45 | Wales |
| 2002 | Baglan Bay Power Station Baglan Bay power station Baglan Bay power station is a 525MWe gas-fired power station situated on Baglan Moors just west of Port Talbot in Wales.-History:The power was built on the site of the former Isopropanol BP chemicals in September 2003, costing £300m. At the time of its development, it was considered the most... |
510 | Wales |
| 2002 | Castleford Power Station | 56 | Yorkshire and the Humber |
External links
- Digest of United Kingdom energy statistics (DUKES) at Department of Energy and Climate ChangeDepartment of Energy and Climate ChangeThe Department of Energy and Climate Change is a British government department created on 3 October 2008 by Prime Minister Gordon Brown to take over some of the functions of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs...