| E.on UK Medway coal-fired power station gets backing |
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| Thursday, 03 January 2008 | |
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Energy giant E.on UK has received backing from Medway Council to build Britains first coal- fired power plant in 24 years. E.on UK want to replace existing coal-fired units at Kingsnorth power station in Medway, Kent. It has said the building of two new cleaner coal units would produce power from coal more efficiently and more cleanly than ever before in the UK, leading to a cut in carbon emissions of almost two million tons a year. Robin Cooper, Medway Council's director of regeneration and development, said: "This is one of the largest planning applications Medway Council has ever dealt with. Councillors visited the site and carefully took into consideration all the issues before coming to a decision. The council does not have the power to grant or reject planning permission, but was asked to give its views to the government The decision will now go before government for final approval. However, more than 9,000 people have objected to the plans. Greenpeace has said the plant will emit as much carbon dioxide as the 30 least polluting nations in the world combined. It added it would create a highly carbon-intensive and inefficient form of energy generation and would go against government policy on climate change and energy sources.       |
