Eye: Plans submitted for £200 million power station on site of airfield
Eye Airfield
The construction of a £200 million power station has taken a step forward after the company behind the proposal submitted plans to the government.
The planning inspectorate have until April 28 to confirm that Progress Power’s application meets the required standards following a submission of a development consent order.
If the application meets the standards, an examination will then take place, where interested parties can make representations to the inspectorate. The examination process could start as soon as this summer.
Progress Power claim the gas-fired power station at Eye Airfield could generate enough power to supply the equivalent of 400,000 homes when required.
The company are also hoping to build an Electrical Connection Compound (ECC), which would comprise of a substation and a sealing end compound.
A spokesman for the company said: “The ECC is a vital component of our power station project that will provide the country with essential back-up electricity generation capacity.
“It enables the electricity that the station will generate to be delivered into the National Grid for homes and businesses, hospitals and schools.”
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The spokesman also said the power station would connect to the National Gria via underground cables to the ECC, which is close to existing overhead electricity transmission lines.
The company also said that details had been published on how the main construction traffic for the compound would avoid Yaxley, Mellis and Thrandeston by using a new road junction off the A140. Following local feedback, the application also includes the option for a smaller substation.
There had been plans for a larger ‘air insulated switchgear’ (AIS) on the site, but the application now also includes plans for a ‘gas insulated switchgear’ (GIS), which could be granted by the government.
The spokesman said: “The footprint of a GIS substation would be approximately one third of the AIS technology variant.
“All other elements of the electrical connection would remain unchanged.”
