More than a billion pounds is to be spent on the site of the former Eggborough coal station to create a new 1700MW Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) power plant with a 299MW 2-hour battery storage scheme.

London-based EP UK Investments says subject to Final Investment Decision, these projects costing will provide a major contribution to providing electricity generation and energy security to the UK through the 2020s and into the 2030s.

Tom Bains, CEO of EPUKI, says the scheme will deliver “one of the most modern power plants in Europe being Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) and Hydrogen ready, and help to guarantee security of supply when inflexible renewable generation cannot satisfy demand“.

The CCGT project will be the single largest flexible generation asset to be commissioned in the UK since 2012, whilst the battery project will also be one of the largest to be built in the UK to date. 

The Eggborough site was acquired by EPH in 2015 as part of its acquisition of Eggborough Power Ltd, a former 2000MW coal plant that was decommissioned in 2018.

The contracts were awarded as part of the government’s Capacity Market auction for the 2026/2027 Delivery Year held on Tuesday.