SSE Thermal is the thermal power generation subsidiary of British company

SSE plc SSE plc (formerly Scottish and Southern Energy plc) is a multinational energy company headquartered in Perth, Scotland. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. SSE operates in the United Kingdom a ...

Overview

SSE Thermal operates several thermal power stations across the United Kingdom and Ireland that provide electricity to the National Grid and

EirGrid EirGrid plc is the state-owned electric power transmission operator in Ireland. It is a public limited company registered under the Companies Acts; its shares are held by the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications. It is one ...

respectively. It operated Ferrybridge 'C 'power station and

Fiddlers Ferry power station Fiddler's Ferry power station is a decommissioned coal fired power station in the Borough of Warrington, Cheshire, England. Opened in 1971, the station had a generating capacity of 1,989 megawatts and took water from the River Mersey. After pri ...

until 2016 and 2020 respectively, SSE having decided in 2017 to end its UK coal power generation. It now focuses on generation of electricity from waste and

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

Endesa Ireland acquisition

In 2010, SSE announced that it would purchase

Endesa Endesa, S.A. (, originally an initialism for ''Empresa Nacional de Electricidad, S.A''.) is a Spanish multinational electric utility company, the largest in the country. The firm, a majority-owned subsidiary of the Italian utility company Enel, ...

Generation's Irish power generation business for €320 million in cash plus an estimated €43 million for working capital. Endesa Ireland's assets included plants in operation, under construction and with consent for development. The deal included four operating plants: the 620 MW fuel oil Tarbert Power Station in

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

; the 240 MW fuel oil Great Island Power Station in

County Wexford County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...

; the 104 MW peaking gas oil Tawnaghmore Power Station in

County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...

; and the 104 MW peaking gas oil Rhode Power Station in

County Offaly County Offaly (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is named after the Ancient Ireland, ancient Kingdom of Uí ...

. A 460 MW CCGT plant was at the time under construction at Great Island, and was commissioned in 2014, when the older 240 MW fuel oil unit was decommissioned. SSE invested €125 million over three years to complete construction of the plant. The acquisitions also included three options for the future development of power generation plants in Ireland. These are a proposed 450 MW CCGT plant at Tarbert, which received full planning permission in 2010; a development site at Lanesboroin,

County Longford County Longford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford. Longford County Council is the Local government in the Republic ...

, and a development site at

Shannonbridge Shannonbridge () is a village located on the River Shannon, at the junction of the R444 and R357 regional roads in County Offaly, Ireland. It lies within the townland of Raghra (), at the borders of counties Offaly, Galway and Roscommon, with ...

, County Offaly.

Current operations

United Kingdom *

Keadby Power Stations Keadby Power Stations are a pair of natural gas-fired power stations near Scunthorpe in North Lincolnshire, built on the site of an older coal power station. The site lies near the B1392 and the River Trent, and the Scunthorpe-Grimsby railway. Al ...

Marchwood Power Station Marchwood Power Station is an 898.1 MW gas-fired power station in Marchwood, near Southampton, England. It is situated beside estuary of the River Test where it meets Southampton Water, opposite the Port of Southampton. It is built on the si ...

Medway Power Station Medway Power Station is a 735 megawatts gas-fired combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power station on the Isle of Grain in Kent adjacent to the River Medway, about 44 miles east of London. It started to supply electricity to the national grid i ...

Peterhead Power Station Peterhead Power Station is a multi-unit station owned and operated by SSE plc, with a capacity of 2,177 MW (1,550 MW transmissible). It is located near Boddam and the A90, just south of Peterhead, in Aberdeenshire, in the northeast of Scotlan ...

Seabank Power Station Seabank Power Station is a 1,140 MW gas-fired power station at Hallen Marsh in Bristol, England. It is situated beside the A403 road and Severn Estuary, just north of Avonmouth and south of Severn Beach, close to the boundary with South ...

* Chickerell Power Station * Burghfield Power Station * Saltend Power Station * Indian Queens Power Station *

Deeside Power Station Deeside Power Station is a power station on the Deeside Industrial Park to the north of Connah's Quay in Flintshire, Wales. Constructed as a 498 MWe combined-cycle gas plant, it is now used to provide inertial response and reactive power se ...

Ireland * Great Island Power Station * Rhode Power Station * Tawnaghmore Power Station * Tarbert Power Station

Former operations

– operated from 2004 until the plant's closure in 2020. * Ferrybridge 'C' power station – operated until closure in 2016.

References

{{Reflist Electric power companies of the United Kingdom SSE plc