DONG Energy has today inaugurated the £600 million, gas-fired Severn Power Station at Uskmouth in South Wales. The power plant has the capacity to produce up to 824MW of electricity, which is enough to power around 1.5 million homes and represents more than one per cent of the UK’s peak electricity demand.  

Anders Eldrup, CEO of DONG Energy (left) shaking hands with Carwyn Jones, First Minister of Wales.

Anders Eldrup, CEO of DONG Energy, said: "We have been operating in the UK since 2001 and the Severn Power Station represents an important landmark development for us. With the UK facing a potential future energy gap in the next ten years, gas-fired generation will become more and more important. This project is a demonstration of our commitment to strengthening DONG Energy’s position in the UK, and complements our extensive portfolio of renewable energy and upstream investments.”

Carwyn Jones, First Minister of Wales, commented “This new power station is an important addition to the diverse energy mix of technologies that are putting Wales at the cutting edge of UK energy production. DONG Energy‘s significant investment in this development will play an important part in enhancing the security of supply of reliable power supplies in addition to helping us reduce our energy carbon footprint and providing skilled jobs for people in the local area.”

Severn Power Station is one of the most efficient natural gas-fired power stations in the UK, with a thermal efficiency of around 58 per cent. Using state-of-the-art combined cycle gas turbine technology, the plant produces fewer carbon emissions per unit of energy generated than traditional fossil fuel power stations, thus reducing the impact on the environment. DONG Energy purchased the station from Welsh Power in 2009, and the construction has taken less than three years.