Willington gas pipeline

In February 2011, RWE npower was granted planning consent to develop Willington C Power Station, a new gas-fired power station. As Willington A and B stations were coal-fired, there is no existing infrastructure for transporting gas to the site, so a new gas pipeline would need to be constructed to bring the fuel to the new station.

As a result, we would need to build a gas pipeline to connect the power station to the National Transmission System (NTS), which transmits gas around the country. The indicative gas pipeline route will connect to the NTS south of Yoxall in Staffordshire and travel in a north-easterly direction to Willington C Power Station in South Derbyshire – approximately 27 kilometres long.

The Willington C gas pipeline would be laid underground, avoiding residential areas and would connect to the NTS at a new compound, known as an Above Ground Installation (AGI), where there would be a small building with valves and metering equipment.

The gas pipeline requires a separate consent application to the power station and, as a result of changes to the UK’s planning system, this will be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate. The Planning Inspectorate makes decisions on applications for nationally significant infrastructure projects, such as new power stations and any associated developments including gas pipelines. Information on the Planning Inspectorate can be found by clicking this link.