Investing In The Local Area

A project of this type and nature will bring considerable benefit to the local economy. 

Community Initiatives

As part of the planning process, we intend to consult Staffordshire Moorlands District Council and the Parish Councils on ways in which Blythe Park could directly support the local area. 

We are open to ideas from the local community but we are minded to provide assistance in the areas of education, the environment and energy efficiency.  The UK power generation industry has a proud record of supporting local communities and Blythe Park Power will continue that tradition.

Jobs & Services

Up to 1000 people will be employed at peak times during the construction phase, and Blythe Park Power will strongly encourage the major project contractors to use local companies and local materials where possible.  BPP estimates that about 30-40% of the construction workforce will be sourced from the region.

During this period, we also expect a significant financial benefit to be secured for the local economy through the use of local shops, pubs and restaurants, guest house/hotel accommodation etc.

While the manpower required for the operation of a gas fired power station is small, BPP expects about 50 full time well-paid and high skilled jobs and 20-30 less skilled jobs will be created for the 25 year life-time of the plant. It is likely that the highly skilled workers will initially come from outside the region and will require housing in the local area, potentially boosting the local housing market.  The maintenance of the power plant would also generate a further 100-150 jobs, mainly from local service companies. The total annual maintenance budget of the power plant would be around £10-20m per annum and much of this would be spent in the local area.

Even at this early stage, BPP has received approaches from local companies wishing to get involved in this £400m project and if we do proceed we will host workshops for local businesses to outline the types of services that will be required and the likely procurement processes.

Other businesses, which may be attracted by the availability of usable waste heat, and possibly wholesale price electricity and gas, could well have more significant manpower requirements.

The plant may also act as a Combined Heat and Power plant (CHP) and make available high-pressure steam, low-pressure steam, hot water, deionised water, cooling water and electricity to other users in the area if required.  These users could be residential housing (district heating), heavy and light industry (CHP), warehouses, etc.

The availability of such services could assist in encouraging other commercial developments onto the Blythe Park Business Park and to other proposed developments in the area to help stimulate the local economy.

National Need

There is a general acceptance across the political spectrum that the UK requires new power stations to replace those coal and nuclear power plants that are reaching the end of their lifetimes and to meet future demand from industry, business and households.  The investment in new generation capacity is required despite the improvements being made in energy efficiency and the better management of energy demand.

As gas-fired plants are a proven and environment-friendly technology and can be built relatively quickly (within 2-3 years from planning consent), they can provide the UK with the energy security as the first new nuclear power stations are not expected to be built until the end of the decade. CCGT gas fired power stations use the fuel very efficiently, converting almost 60% of the energy into electricity. This can be compared with the existing coal fired power stations, which convert about 35-37% of the energy in the fuel into electricity.

In addition, with the projected increase in renewable sources of energy, primarily onshore and offshore wind power, the UK electricity market requires a secure and stable means of generation to be readily available when the wind isn’t blowing (wind intermittency).

Whilst the UK is increasingly reliant on imported gas, new gas-fired electricity generation is regarded as vital for the UK’s future energy security and diversity of energy supply.

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