ESB – the Electricity Supply Board of Ireland – has officially opened its new 884MW gas fired power station at Carrington, near Manchester.
The £800 million development is providing 40 permanent jobs on site and is powering more than one million homes and businesses in the greater Manchester area.
Carrington power station is one of the most efficient thermal plants in the UK at 58 per cent efficiency and generates four times more electricity than the coal plant formerly located on the site.
It is the first new large scale high efficiency gas plant to come onto the British electricity grid since 2013.
Junior British energy Minister, Jesse Norman, MP – who officially declared the plant open (see photo) – said: “New power stations like this complement low-carbon wind and solar renewable energy by providing reliable electricity all year round, whatever the weather or time of day.”