Ayrshire Power, the company proposing to develop a new multi-fuel power station with Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology at Hunterston, North Ayrshire, has today confirmed that it has entered the first stage of submitting a planning application to the Scottish Government.

The application has been lodged with the Scottish Government's Energy Consents Unit and has entered the "Gate-Checking" Process for Section 36 Applications covering onshore power stations.

This gate-checking stage allows the Scottish Government, in consultation with statutory consultees, to assess the application documents to ensure that they contain all the necessary information for a full assessment of the proposals to be made. Once past the gate-checking process, the application will be formally accepted by the Scottish Government and the public consultation period will begin.

The proposed development, located on a site between the existing Clydeport coal handling facility at the Hunterston Terminal and Hunterston B nuclear power plant would burn both coal and biomass and use highly efficient modern technology with strict emissions control.

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The power station has been designed based on the implementation of CCS technology in line with the latest UK and Scottish Government guidance. In addition to ultimately capturing 90% of the carbon dioxide produced by the plant, the latest supercritical power station technology will significantly increase efficiency and so reduce coal consumption by up to 25% compared to existing conventional plants, thereby further reducing CO2 emissions.

If approved, it is estimated that the facility could meet the needs of about 3 million homes

The proposed development would also create a significant number of jobs in North Ayrshire, employing up to 1,600 people at the peak of construction and approximately 160 on an ongoing basis once the site is up and running

Project Director Muir Miller said: "Having consulted widely on our plans at Hunterston over the last 18 months and taken on board recent energy policy changes, we are pleased to be able to now submit our plans to the Scottish Government. Once they have proceeded through the gate-checking process, we look forward to a further comprehensive public consultation exercise facilitated by the Scottish Government.

"We believe our proposal supports the UK and Scottish Governments’ commitment to leading the way in developing CCS to assist in decarbonising the UK’s electricity sector by 2030. We remain determined to deploy this technology at full scale on a modern supercritical power station, supported by appropriate regulatory and fiscal measures."

(GK)