Marchwood Power, an 840MW gas-fired power station located near Southampton, was officially opened today. The station, costing £380m, was developed by ESB International (ESBI) in partnership with Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE).

 

Marchwood Power is the first large-scale gas-fired power plant to enter commercial operation in the UK since 2004. At its maximum output, the station generates enough electricity to supply around one million homes - the equivalent total needs of Southampton, the New Forest and Winchester.

 

Constructed over a three year period by Siemens, the project was delivered within budget. Marchwood Power currently employs 45 full-time staff and all of its output is contracted to SSE.

 

Lochlann Quinn, ESB Chairman and Lord Smith of Kelvin, Chairman of SSE officially opened the plant. They were joined by senior executives from both companies including Padraig McManus, Chief Executive of ESB and Graham Juggins, Chairman of Marchwood Power Ltd.

 

Graham Juggjns said: "Everyone involved in Marchwood Power's development and construction must be congratulated. It is the first major gas-fired power station to be built in the UK since 2004 and, notably, came in on budget. In addition, the project benefits hugely from the close working relationship with representatives of the local community which was established during the development of the project."

 

Padraig McManus, ESB Chief Executive, said: "The opening of Marchwood Power is a significant milestone in the expansion of ESB's presence in the UK energy market. In addition, our wind generation interests and other gas-fired development projects place ESB on course to achieve its target of providing over 3GW of generation capacity in the UK within the next ten years. With the anticipated emergence of a single UK-Irish energy market over the next decade, our UK generation interests along with our established presence in Ireland will ensure that ESB is well-positioned to respond to the market challenges and opportunities that are likely to arise."