Willington FAQs

What happened to your proposals for housing/a mixed use development at the Willington site?

We were disappointed that, in January 2009, our proposed redevelopment of the former Willington Power Station site was not granted planning approval.

Are you going to submit another planning application for housing on the site?

Since the application for housing on the site was submitted in 2006, the housing market has changed dramatically. In addition, a number of key changes have occurred which have made the demand for new power stations greater.

Why do we need a new power station at Willington?

The UK is likely to require 15-25GW of new power generation capacity by 2020. Without new power plants, the UK could face a major shortfall in electricity supply.

Our site at Willington is ideal to help deliver new generating capacity in the UK as it was previously developed and has existing connections to the national electricity grid and proximity to cooling water from the River Trent.

Have you submitted a planning application for a new power station?

We are developing proposals for a new, state-of-the-art 2,000MW combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power station at Willington and we have yet to confirm when we will submit a planning application.

We submitted a scoping report to the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) during April 2009. A scoping report is an early stage in the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process and is designed to ensure that the environmental studies to be undertaken provide all the relevant information required for the assessment.

Could a nuclear power station be built at Willington?

Over the coming months, we will consider in detail the feasibility of developing a gas-fired power station at the site. There are no plans to investigate the use of any other fuel at the site.

What will happen to the Willington A and B cooling towers – will they be demolished?

We would not expect a new power station to use the existing Willington cooling towers, and it is likely that they would be demolished as part of the redevelopment of the site.

Where would the new gas pipeline be constructed?

It would be necessary to construct up to approx 30 kilometres of gas pipeline to connect the power station to the National Transmission System which transmits gas around the country. The route for this pipeline has yet to be decided and will be agreed in consultation with South Derbyshire District Council.

The gas pipeline would be laid underground and so would not be visible above ground.

What benefits would a new power station bring to the local community?

RWE npower makes a long-term commitment to all its power station sites, and a new station at Willington would provide a significant benefit in terms of long-term employment and investment in the local economy.

There would also be a positive impact on the local economy through requirements for ancillary services such as security, catering, maintenance contractors and support workers, and indirect benefit from an improved job market

Through RWE npower’s Community Fund, Willington Power Station would provide support for a variety of local initiatives that fit our three key themes of education, environment and health.