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The 299MW open cycle gas turbine (OCGT) power station is designed to go from cold to full load in less than 20 minutes, enabling it to respond quickly to support the electricity grid.
It is to be be built on land located at Abergelli Farm, south of Felindre in south Wales, next to a National Grid gas compressor station.
It is expected to take two years to build and could now be generating power in 2022, subject to it next securing a capacity market agreement from the government.
Andy Koss, CEO Generation at Drax, said: “Securing this approval from the secretary of state is a crucial step in ensuring development of the new gas generation the UK needs to provide flexible power and system support services to the electricity grid as part of the country’s transition to a low carbon economy.
“Rapid response gas power stations are agile enough to ramp up quickly and support the grid at times of peak demand, making them highly complementary to intermittent renewable sources of power, like wind and solar. Flexible, reliable power stations like this are essential to provide the power Britain’s homes, businesses, transport and infrastructure need.”
Drax applied for a development consent order for Abergelli Power in 2018 with extensive community consultation as part of the planning and consenting process. Drax said that it would continue to engage with local neighbours as the project progresses.
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