Lynemouth Power Station

Lynemouth power station
Lynemouth Power Station in July 2008
Location of Lynemouth power station in Northumberland
Official name	Lynemouth Power Station
Country	England
Location	Lynemouth, Northumberland
Coordinates	55°12′15″N 1°31′15″W / 55.20417°N 1.52083°W / 55.20417; -1.52083Coordinates: 55°12′15″N 1°31′15″W / 55.20417°N 1.52083°W / 55.20417; -1.52083
Status	Operational
Construction began	1968
Commission date	1972
Owner(s)	1972 to 2013 Rio Tinto Alcan 2013 to 2016 RWE npower 2016 to present EPH
Thermal power station
Primary fuel	Bituminous coal
Secondary fuel	Biomass
Power generation
Units operational	Three 140 MW Parsons
Nameplate capacity	420 MW

Lynemouth Power Station is a coal and biomass fired power station which provides electricity for the UK National Grid. Until March 2012, it was the main source of electricity for the nearby Alcan Lynemouth Aluminium Smelter. It is located on the coast of Northumberland, north east of the town of Ashington in north east England. The station has stood as a landmark on the Northumberland coast since it opened in 1972, and has been privately owned by aluminium company Rio Tinto Alcan throughout its operation until December 2013, when RWE npower took over. In January 2016 it has been acquired by Energetický a průmyslový holding.

The station is one of the most recently built coal-fired power stations in the United Kingdom, but with a generating capacity of only 420 megawatts (MW), is now one of the smallest operating. Two separate wind farm plans currently have permission to be built near the station, one for a 13 turbine wind farm near the smelter and another three turbine wind farm to the north of the station. In 2009, Alcan announced that they hope to fit the station with carbon capture and storage technology. In 2011, it was announced that the power station may be converted to burn biomass only, in a bid to avoid government legislation. In January 2016 the station was purchased by Energetický a průmyslový holding (EPH).

In 1968, Alcan had applied for planning permission for the construction of a new aluminium smelter in Northumberland at Lynemouth. Later that year, Alcan was granted the permission and site preparation would soon begin. However, to meet the electric demand of the new smelter, a power station would also be needed to be built. Therefore, Lynemouth Power Station was constructed only 800 m (2,600 ft) from the aluminium smelter.