Willington - the environment

Protecting the environment is very important and RWE npower is committed to minimising the environmental impact of everything it does – especially when developing a new power station.

Any company seeking planning consent to build a power station must thoroughly investigate the possible effects of its proposals on the environment. This includes carefully assessing and monitoring the site’s ecology and determining whether any protected species are present. For example, surveys of birds that winter or breed on the site are already underway. An Environmental Statement providing details of these investigations and their conclusions must be submitted with the planning application, forming a vital part of the planning process.

If plans for a new station were approved, RWE npower would make every effort to cause as little disruption to the local environment as possible. Whilst some wildlife would be affected, this would be kept to an absolute minimum, with important habitats and species being retained or relocated and re-established.

Compared to existing coal fired power stations, a new gas fired power station would have a much smaller impact on the environment. No ash or dust is produced and gas contains virtually no sulphur. The plant would be fitted with the latest technology combustion system to minimise the production of oxides of nitrogen (NOX). All emissions to the air from the operating power station would be carefully regulated by the Environment Agency.

A new power station at Willington would be gas-fired, with a back-up of fuel oil. Consequently, there would be no need to transport fuel and bi-products like coal and ash in and out of the station, as was the case when Willington A and B Power Stations were operational. This would significantly reduce the amount of traffic on the local rail and road infrastructure.

Building a new power station would be a major project, but every effort would be made to keep disruption that could be caused by construction to a minimum. Construction traffic would use agreed routes and would be carefully controlled to limit the impact on local roads.

We are committed to conducting the construction and operation of our power plants in an environmentally sustainable way and we will continue to work closely with the relevant authorities to achieve this goal.