Plans for the construction of a new gas-fired combined cycle power plant in the UK have been given the go-ahead.
The 162 MW Palm Paper 3 power plant will provide electricity and steam to a paper mill in Norfolk, eastern England, and was granted development consent by the UK government as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP).
The new plant will enable Palm Paper to reduce its reliance on energy imported from the grid and will achieve a nominal thermal efficiency of 85 per cent. It will displace the site’s two existing package boilers and is expected to operate continuously throughout the year.
The UK government’s planning inspectorate has now examined and decided on 50 NSIPs, which are projects deemed to be of national or local significance and which go though a streamlined planning process. Other NSIPs include the Hinkley Point C connection, the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon and the Navitus Bay offshore wind park.
