Deeside Power Station

DEESIDE POWER - ENVIRONMENT - Archive of Performance Records
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Deeside Power
2010 Environmental Performance

Gas and electricity markets in 2010 allowed Deeside to operate at base load regularly during the early part of the year, although in the fourth quarter changes to market pricing led to an increase in ‘two-shift’ operation. This is the term given to plant operation requiring start up and shut down within the same day. With a thermal efficiency of around 52%, along with the low sulphur content of the fuel gas, the plant still emits significantly less greenhouse gas and acid forming gas emissions than conventional coal-fired power plants.

Amongst targets achieved during 2010 were:
Improvements to management of project quality plans
Improvements in waste segregation to enable better recycling
Modification to lighting in various areas to trial movement sensors, enabling wider use in 2011

We continue to offer an educational facility for local schools, which incorporates the Energy Garden completed in 2005. This is an on-site facility providing information to enable young engineers of the future to consider the implications of the various forms of electricity generation available.

The station management has approved Deeside's environmental policy for 2011. This largely reflects Deeside’s commitment to full compliance with the Environmental Permit requirements and continual improvement of our ISO 14001 certified Environment Management System.

Targets for 2011 include:
Produce plans for minimisation of carbon dioxide emissions, water use and waste production
Fit additional movement sensors to site lighting to reduce energy use
Investigate reductions in energy use during gas turbine start up and shut down

2009 Environmental Performance

We are pleased to report that again there have been no breaches of any permit or licence conditions during the past year. Performance against site policy was considered during the year, and all policy items were still felt to be relevant.

During 2009, electricity market conditions associated with a major plant outage led to a slight decrease in our annual output when compared to the previous year. Despite thermal efficiency at about 52% we noted a slight increase in specific emissions over last year, mainly due to the operational regime. However, due to the low sulphur content of the fuel gas, we still produced significantly less greenhouse and acid-forming gas emissions than conventional coal and oil-fired power plants.

Amongst targets achieved during 2009 were:
The replacement of a silencer on a steam ejector system; improved methods of showing completion of audit actions; the audit of several waste contractors to show compliance with waste management legislation; plan for reductions in emissions by evaluation of future investment in plant, and investigations into reducing methane emissions from venting.

The site was also able to increase plant capability through improved full load efficiency by updating gas turbine components, leading to further net reductions in emissions of oxides of nitrogen and carbon dioxide per MWh.

We continue to offer an educational facility for local schools, which incorporates the Energy Garden completed in 2005. This is an on-site facility providing information to enable young engineers of the future to consider the implications of the various forms of electricity generation available.

The station management has approved Deeside's environmental policy for 2010. This largely reflects Deeside’s commitment to full compliance with the Environmental Permit requirements and continual improvement of our ISO 14001 certified Environment Management System.

Targets for 2010 include:
The introduction of quality plans for outage work; aim to make further reductions in waste production, and survey lighting to reduce energy use.

2008 Environmental Performance

During 2008, Deeside sought to remain competitive through increased plant flexibility. This again led to a significant increase in our output compared to the previous year. With our thermal efficiency at about 52%, coupled with the low sulphur content of the fuel gas, this still results in significantly less greenhouse and acid-forming gas emissions than conventional coal- and oil-fired power plants.

The station management has approved Deeside's environmental policy for the coming year. This largely reflects Deeside’s commitment to the Environmental Permit and continued commitment to ISO 14001. Performance against site policy was considered during the year, and all policy items were still felt to be relevant.

Amongst targets achieved during 2008 were:
Completion of reports required under the Environmental Permit improvement programme, assessment of methods of reducing emissions to air from the gas turbines, full compliance with relevant standards for monitoring of emissions to air and re-route site drainage to enable use for process cooling to improve discharge control and reduce water use.

Targets for 2008 include:
Comply with relevant standards for measurement of water discharges, install silencer to air ejector to reduce noise impact, improve environmental awareness training for staff and reduce waste sent to landfill.

We are pleased to report that again there have been no breaches of any permit or licence conditions during the past year.

We continue to offer an educational facility for local schools, which now incorporates the Energy Garden completed in 2005. This is an on-site facility providing information to enable young engineers of the future to consider the implications of the various forms of electricity generation available.

2007 Environmental Performance

During 2007, Deeside sought to remain competitive through increased plant flexibility. This led to a significant increase in our output compared with 2006. With our thermal efficiency at about 51%, coupled with the low sulphur content of the fuel gas, this still results in significantly less greenhouse and acid-forming gas emissions than conventional coal and oil-fired power plants.

The station management has approved Deeside's environmental policy for the coming year. This largely reflects Deeside’s commitment to the new IPPC permit and its associated improvement programme. Performance against site policy was considered during the year, and all policy items were still felt to be relevant.

Amongst targets achieved during 2007 were:
Reports submitted for all improvement conditions under the PPC permit and awaiting comments from the Environment Agency; improvements to waste management; improvements to our management of contracting work; and continued compliance with all other applicable environmental regulations.

Targets for 2008 include:
Ensure improvements required under IPPC Permit are achieved; consider methods to reduce emissions to air, such as reducing gas turbine run-up times and improving combustion concepts; improve waste management through auditing of waste contractors and considering reducing our ‘carbon footprint’; and ensuring our monitoring equipment is compliant with the relevant standards for discharges to water and emissions to air.

We are pleased to report that again there have been no breaches of any permit or licence conditions during the past year.

We continue to offer an educational facility for local schools, which now incorporates the Energy Garden completed in 2005. This is an on-site facility providing information to enable young engineers of the future to consider the implications of the various forms of electricity generation available.

During 2006, Deeside sought to remain competitive through increased plant flexibility. Market conditions, high gas prices in the early part of the year, and plant maintenance, however, forced a comparatively low output. The thermal efficiency is still relatively high, and coupled with the low sulphur content of the fuel gas results in significantly less greenhouse and acid-forming gas emissions than conventional coal- and oil-fired power plants.

The station management has approved Deeside's environmental policy for the coming year. This largely reflects Deeside’s commitment to the new IPPC permit and its associated improvement programme. Performance against site policy was considered during the year, and all policy items were still felt to be relevant.

A successful application for an IPPC Permit, attainment of the revised ISO 14001:2004 standard, improvements to waste management, water minimisation audit, requirement for staff to comment on energy use on site, improvements to our management of contracting work and continued compliance with all other applicable environmental regulations.

Ensure improvements required under IPPC Permit are achieved, continue to ensure competence of staff and contractors on site, aim to install replacement emissions monitoring equipment with MCERTS certification or accreditation and continue with improvements to waste management.
We are pleased to report that again there have been no breaches of any of our authorisation or licence conditions during the past year.
We continue to offer an educational facility for local schools, which now incorporates the Energy Garden completed in 2005.

This is an on-site facility providing information to enable young engineers of the future to consider the implications of the various forms of electricity
generation available.

During 2005, Deeside sought to remain competitive through increased plant flexibility. Market conditions and high gas prices, however, forced a comparatively low output. The thermal efficiency is still relatively high, and coupled with the low sulphur content of the fuel gas results in significantly less greenhouse and acid-forming gas emissions than conventional coal- and oil-fired power plants.

The station management has approved Deeside's environmental policy for the coming year. This is largely unchanged from last year's, and is consistent with International Power policy. Performance against site policy was considered during the year, and all policy items were still felt to be relevant.

Amongst targets achieved during 2005 were:
Completion of the Energy Garden project, improvements to the way we store waste oil on site, improvements to our management of contracting work and continued compliance with all applicable environmental regulations.

Targets for 2005 include:
Complete our IPPC application and carry out any improvements required by IPPC Permit conditions, Carry out a water minimisation audit, Review the Environmental Management System to ensure compliance with the revised ISO 14001 standard for environmental management, ensure compliance with EU Emissions Trading Scheme requirements and investigate improvements to management of waste on site.

We are pleased to report that again there have been no breaches of any of our authorisation or licence conditions during the past year. In addition, we have received no justified complaints from members of the public.

Deeside has maintained the standard required under ISO 14001 through assessment by Lloyds Register Quality Assurance.
We continue to offer an educational facility for local schools, which now incorporates the Energy Garden completed in 2005. This is an on-site facility providing information to enable young engineers of the future to consider the implications of the various forms of electricity generation available.

During 2004, Deeside sought to maximise income through increased flexibility. Market conditions and high gas prices, however, forced a comparatively low output. The thermal efficiency is still relatively high, and coupled with the low sulphur content of the fuel gas results in significantly less greenhouse and acid-forming gas emissions than conventional coal-fired power plants.

The station management has approved Deeside's environmental policy for the coming year. This is largely unchanged from last year's, and is slightly different from the International Power policy to account for differences in operation. Performance against site policy was considered during the year, and all policy items were still felt to be relevant.

Continuation of our work with a local school on their environmental improvements, continuation with our Energy Garden Project and improved management of incident response.

Completion of the Energy Garden project, prepare an application for our IPPC permit, improve our management of contracting work, look at ways of improving our waste recycling performance, and make improvements to the way we store waste oil on site.

We are pleased to report that again there have been no breaches of any of our authorisation or licence conditions during the past year. In addition, we have received no substantiated complaints from members of the public.

Deeside has maintained the standard required under ISO 14001 through audits by Lloyds Register Quality Assurance, and is currently working towards accreditation to the revised ISO 14001 standard.

We continue to offer an educational facility for local schools and are hoping this year to open our Energy Garden to local schools. This is an on-site
roject providing information to enable young engineers of the future to consider the implications of the various forms of electricity generation available.

With changes to the UK electricity generating market, through the New Electricity Trading Arrangements (NETA), and in response to unfavourable market conditions, one gas turbine was mothballed in April 2002. Deeside sought to maximise income through increased flexibility with the remaining gas turbine throughout most of 2002. The thermal efficiency is still relatively high, and coupled with the low sulphur content of the fuel gas results in significantly less greenhouse and acid-forming gas emissions than conventional coal-fired power plants. With improvements in the market in prospect, the decision was taken late in 2003 to recommission the second gas turbine.

Our parent company, International Power, produced a new environmental policy for 2003, and the local station management has approved a modified version of Deeside's environmental policy for the coming year. This is largely unchanged from last year's, and is slightly different from the International Power policy to account for differences in operation. Performance against site policy was considered during the year, and all policy items were still felt to be relevant.

The setting of a performance target for all staff of no breaches of authorised limits or environmental complaints, various projects with local schools to improve the environment, and improvements to site oil storage arrangements.

Commencement of an environmental project at a local school, completion of an external noise survey to ensure noise emission is effectively controlled, and measures to improve control of our waste disposal. The environmental project is due for completion in 2004.

Deeside has maintained the standard required under ISO 14001 through audits by Lloyds Register Quality Assurance, and has removed one outstanding improvement point, issued at a recertification audit during 2002.

We continue to offer an educational facility for local schools in order demonstrate the environmental benefits of a CCGT power station compared to conventional plant, and are in the process of expanding of the resource this year with an Energy Garden Project, which also continues to form an environmental target. This is an on-site project providing information to enable young engineers of the future to consider the implications of the various forms of electricity generation available.

With changes to the UK electricity generating market, through the New Electricity Trading Arrangements (NETA), and in response to unfavourable market conditions, one gas turbine was mothballed from April 1st 2002. Deeside has sought to maximise income through increased flexibility with the remaining gas turbine throughout most of 2002. The thermal efficiency is still relatively high at 51.4%, and coupled with the low sulphur content of the fuel gas results in significantly less greenhouse and acid-forming gas emissions than conventional coal-fired power plants.

Our parent company, International Power, has produced a new environmental policy for 2003, and the local station management has approved a modified version of Deeside's environmental policy for the coming year. This is largely unchanged from 2002, and is slightly different from the International Power policy to account for differences in operation. Performance against site policy was considered during 2002, and all policy items were still felt to be relevant.

Targets for 2003 include an environmental project at a local school, an external noise survey to ensure noise emission is effectively controlled, and measures to improve control of our waste disposal.

Deeside has maintained the standard required under ISO 14001 through audits by Lloyds Register Quality Assurance, and is working to remove one outstanding improvement point, issued at a recertification audit during 2002.

We continue to offer an educational facility for local schools in order demonstrate the environmental benefits of a CCGT power station compared to conventional plant, and are planning an expansion of the resource this year with an Energy Garden Project, which also forms an environmental target. This is an on-site project providing information to enable young engineers of the future to consider the implications of the various forms of electricity generation available.

Deeside has operated at base load throughout most of 2001, with an availability figure of more than 92%. A thermal efficiency of over 52% has been maintained. The high thermal efficiency coupled with the low sulphur content of the fuel gas results in significantly less greenhouse and acid-forming gas emissions than conventional coal-fired power plants.

The station management has approved the environmental policy for 2002. This is unchanged from 2001, and is slightly different from the International Power policy to account for differences in operation. All policy items were achieved during 2001, and were still felt to be relevant.

Amongst targets achieved during 2001 were:
A new air backwash system to improve availability was installed; a programme of work on the cooling water systems to improve control of bacteria was carried out, and an incident test involving the Environment Agency, the Fire Service and Ambulance Service was held. Local businesses were consulted, and a sulphuric acid spillage was simulated.

We are pleased to report that again there have been no breaches of any of our authorisation or licence conditions during the past year. In addition, we have received no complaints from members of the public.

Deeside has maintained the standard required under ISO 14001 through audits by LRQA, and in 2001 received no improvement points. A re-certification assessment is planned for 2002.

We also continue to offer an educational facility for local schools in order demonstrate the environmental benefits of a CCGT power station compared to conventional plant.