Thurrock Power has received the development consent from the UK’s Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy for its flexible generation and storage power plant.
The flexible generation plant includes a gas fired electricity generating station and a battery storage facility, located to the north of Tilbury substation.
The project will feature gas reciprocating engines with up to 600MW electrical capacity and battery storage with up to 150MW electrical capacity.
It is classified as a ‘Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project’ under the Planning Act 2008, as it would have a total capacity of 750MW.
The Planning Inspectorate Chief Executive Sarah Richards said: “The Planning Inspectorate has examined more than 100 nationally significant infrastructure projects since the Planning Act 2008 process was introduced, ensuring local communities have had the opportunity of being involved in the examination of projects that may affect them.
“This Examination took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Examining Authority ensured that local people, the local authority and other Interested Parties were able to fully participate.
“The Examining Authority listened and gave full consideration to local views and the evidence gathered during the examination before making their recommendations.”
In May 2020, the company submitted the application to the Planning Inspectorate for consideration, which had accepted it for examination in June.
The examination, in which the public, statutory consultees and interested parties were involved, made recommendations to the Secretary of State in November last year.
Thurrock Power is an integrated developer, owner, and operator of flexible infrastructure, including both energy storage and gas reciprocating engines.
It is a subsidiary of Statera Energy, which was founded in 2015 to provide enhanced flexibility for the UK electricity system.
