Installation of Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD) Technology at Longannet
ScottishPower plans to invest more than £170 million over the next three years to install Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD) at Longannet Power Station.
The project, ScottishPower Generation's largest ever in-house capital investment programme, will create unique economic opportunities in Scotland and beyond. At the peak of activity, more than a thousand contractors will be engaged on site, with a work programme involving three million man hours.
A consortium of Alstom Norway AS, Alstom Power Limited and the Amec Group has been engaged to carry out the installation works.
However, the project consists of more than 30 individual capital projects, presenting opportunities for a broad range of ancillary engineering, technical, support and service contractors. Brian McNaught, FGD Projects Manager, explained: "The contracting staff will primarily be UK based with the potential for some input of foreign labour - for instance there will be some specialised engineering services brought in for overseeing commissioning and testing purposes. "There will be opportunities for local businesses to compete for work through our normal tendering process."
The Flue Gas Desulphurisation installation offers the potential for Longannet's life to be extended beyond 2020, helping secure the long-term future of approximately 320 permanent staff at the station, plus term contractors and service providers, such as hauliers. ScottishPower's Flue Gas Desulphurisation investment also creates scope for Longannet to burn significant quantities of indigenous coal, by allowing the plant to better control its SO2 output.
Welcoming the announcement, David Brewer, Director of the Confederation of UK Coal Producers, said: "This decision fundamentally changes the future of the Scottish coal industry. "It will stop a lot of Scottish coal having to be exported to England to find a market and enable Longannet to cut down its reliance on imported coal. It's really good news for ScottishPower, the Scottish economy and the environment and good news for the Scottish coal industry." Chief Executive of Scottish Coal, Dacre Purchase, also said he was "delighted" with the announcement.
A new compound, nicknamed the "Olympic Village", is now being developed at the Fife power station, for the influx of contractors. Local businesses will help provide services for the visitors - talks have been held with local tourist boards to identify accommodation for non local contractors in guest houses, hotels and B&Bs in Fife and Stirlingshire.
James Lakie of Visit Scotland said: "This is good news for local tourism. The number of contractors will certainly bolster the local tourism spend due to the uptake of rooms in hotels and B&Bs. "The knock on effects for restaurants, pubs and other tourism related businesses will also be very sufficient. Hopefully the trip here will give contractors a taster of what's on offer and will tempt them back for a more leisurely break."
