How Willington could look

RWE npower is committed to limiting the visual impact of any new power station that it may build. This includes giving careful consideration to the colour, location and height of all significant buildings.

Modern gas-fired CCGT power stations are efficient and compact facilities and Willington C would be smaller, and therefore have a significantly lower visual impact, than Willington A and B.

A new power station would have up to eight chimneys – four approx 75m high and four approx 50m high. In addition, there would be smaller buildings to accommodate, for example, the station control room, offices, stores and a water treatment plant.

Although the final designs for a new power station have yet to be decided, Willington C is likely to have four turbine houses each containing a gas and steam turbine driving a common generator. These buildings would be approximately 35 metres high.

The existing cooling towers are not expected to be incorporated into the proposals for Willington C and it is likely that they would be demolished as part of the redevelopment of the site.

A new gas pipeline to the site would need to be constructed and we would undertake all necessary studies to complete this in a secure and environmentally responsible manner.

The colour of the buildings would be chosen to minimise their visual impacts. This would be supported by an appropriate landscaping scheme.

The visual impact of a new station would be fully assessed and photomontages, showing what a new station would look like from a range of viewpoints, will be part of the Environmental Statement.

A comparison of the sizes of Willington A, B and C power stations