§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the load factor was in each year from 1999, of each power station without flue gas desulphurisation equipment fitted; and on what date a BATNEEC application to allow the loading to exceed forty per cent. was(a) submitted, (b) agreed and (c) rejected in each applicable case. [123815]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 4 July 2003]: Operators of large coal and oil fired power stations are regulated by the Environment Agency ("the Agency") through a system of authorisation under the provisions of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Conditions are set in authorisations to ensure environmental protection and include emission limits with which operators must comply.
In 1999 a review of the conditions contained in the authorisations was carried out by the Agency to secure further reductions in sulphur dioxide emissions, and to achieve a 50 per cent. reduction by 2005 of the 1999 317W emission limits. In order to achieve this reduction, the Agency introduced conditions in the authorisations to encourage the building and operation of Flue Gas Desulphurisation ("FGD") equipment. The Agency formed the view that if a power station were to operate above a load factor of 40 per cent. then it would become economically viable to fit FGD equipment. Conditions were included in the authorisations whereby operators that did not have FGD equipment fitted, were required to submit a Best Available Techniques Not Entailing Excessive Cost (`BATNEEC') justification if they wanted to continue operating after September 2001 at a load factor exceeding 40 per cent. The justifications were received in May and June 2000, as listed in the table to this answer.
The exercise coincided with the introduction of the New Electricity Trading Arrangements (or "NETA"). It was recognised that the NETA could alter the market structure of the sector, and that such change could have significant repercussions for the BATNEEC considerations. Because of this economic uncertainty. the Agency did not, at that time, formally accept or reject the BATNEEC cases.
As NETA is now established, the BATNEEC cases made in 2000 are being reviewed. This may lead to a modification of the authorisations of those plant that are operated at high load factors without FGD equipment. This exercise will form part of a wider review of the performance of the coal fired power stations and will take into account further commitments by operators to fit FGD equipment and the requirements under the revised EU Directive concerning Large Combustion Plant.
Operators are not required to report load factors so that information is not available.
Power stations that submitted 'BATNEEC justification for operating above a 40 per cent, load factor without Flue Gas Desulphurisation abatement Operator1 Site Date of justification AEP Ferrybridge June 2000 Fiddler's Ferry Innogy Aberthaw June 2000 Didcot Tilbury London Power Cottam May 2000 PowerGen Drakelow May 2000 Grain High Marnham Ironbridge Kingsnorth International Power Rugeley May 2000 1 Current operator, may differ to that in 2000. Source:
Environment Agency