The mothballed Sutton Bridge power plant will take at least four months to start working again.
The conflict in Ukraine exacerbates energy security, and the prospect of using the Sutton Bridge, which generated 2% of all electricity for England and Wales, is back in the spotlight.
Built in 1999, Sutton Bridge runs on natural gas. Construction cost £337 million. The power plant has a capacity of 850 MW. In 2016, £45 million was spent on upgrading the station. However, the facility has been mothballed since 2020.
In April 2022, Sutton Bridge Manager Rob Gillis announced to the press that there was a decision to restart the station. Mr. Gillis said the process would take “a minimum of four months from our current position.”
The Sutton Bridge team was tasked with maintaining the power plant, keeping it safe and stable – subject to availability of funding.
The summer period is considered to be busy for the energy sector, and finding the right contractors to comply with all the rules for restarting a power plant can be difficult.
It’s already August on the calendar. And if Mr. Gillis is to be believed, Sutton Bridge is in for a new period in the near future.
