Aberthaw Power Station

Aberthaw is a coal-fired power station. The station began full operation in 1971 and is located to the west of Cardiff, in the Vale of Glamorgan, on the north bank of the Bristol Channel.

Aberthaw can generate 1,500MW of electricity for the National Grid System. This is enough power to meet the needs of some 1.5 million households - equivalent to the total population of five cities the size of Cardiff.

We aim to maintain Aberthaw Power Station as one of the most efficient coal-fired power stations in the UK and we have recently completed a £230 million environmental upgrade.

Aberthaw operates as an opted in station under the Large Combustion Plant Directive (LCPD). We have invested in Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD) equipment to meet the new SO₂ emission limits and have also improved combustion control systems to meet the new NO_x limits.

In spring 2008 Aberthaw's FGD plant became operational on two out of the three units and by January 2009 was fully operational on all units, bringing down SO₂ emissions by up to 95%.

Coal supply

Aberthaw Power Station was designed to burn semi-anthracitic, low-volatile coal. A high percentage of this coal is locally sourced coal, mined in Wales and is transported to the power station by rail.

Co-firing biomass

As part of our commitment to investing in lower carbon technologies we've invested over £9.5 million at Aberthaw to enable the co-firing of carbon neutral biomass fuels such as sawdust, palm kernel expeller (PKE) and wood chips in 55MW of existing generating plant replacing some of the coal burned.

Aberthaw Centre for Energy and the Environment (ACE²)

The Aberthaw Centre for Energy and Environment (ACE²) provides an important new facility for schools, colleges and community groups throughout South Wales. ACE² will deliver interactive educational programmes, building on the work of npower’s Climate Cops programme.

Aberthaw Power Station has formed a partnership with Keep Wales Tidy, which runs the Eco-Schools programme in the region, to design and deliver stimulating sessions at the centre which are linked to the National Curriculum science and geography schemes for 7 to 18-year-olds.

The centre was designed to be as eco-friendly as possible: sustainable and recycled materials, such as ash from the power station, were used in construction and the centre is heated and powered using on-site renewable energy sources.