Work starts on £1bn power station

Pembroke power station
An artist's impression of the Pembroke power station

Work has started on a controversial new £1bn gas-fired power station which is creating 2,000 building jobs and up to 100 permanent posts at the site.

A ceremony marked the start of the 2,000 MW plant, which is being built on the site of the old Pembroke power station in Pembrokeshire.

RWE npower said it would generate enough energy for three million homes.

But Friends of the Earth (FoE) Cymru claimed that heat loss from the station would be too wasteful.

The plant was given the go-ahead by the Department of Energy and Climate Change in February.

It will take three years to build and eventually employ 100 workers.

The station, near the new LNG plants at Milford Haven, would be the largest since the Drax station was completed in North Yorkshire in 1986.

Steve Burgin, UK president of Alstom, the engineering firm constructing the station, said the project would employ UK sub-contractors.

He said: "We will complement a European workforce with people from the local community."

But the new power station has been criticised by some environmental groups.

Gordon James, director of FoE Cymru, said: "The new station will dump enough heat to warm 350,000 homes into the Milford Haven waterway, threatening wildlife in this special area of conservation."

He said that the waste heat from the station could be used by local oil refineries for homes and industries.

Simon Jameson, project director for RWE npower, said: "We've worked closely with the Environment Agency to demonstrate there is no significant impact on the Haven."

free listings management website
sexdating