List of active natural gas power stations in the United Kingdom facts for kids

In the United Kingdom, natural gas is used to create electricity in special power plants. As of 2023, there were 49 of these gas-fired power plants in operation. This includes 35 combined cycle power plants, which are very efficient, and 14 single cycle plants. Together, they could produce up to 35.7 gigawatts (GW) of power.

A Shift in How the UK Gets Power

The way the UK makes its electricity has been changing. In 2016, gas-fired power stations were very important, making a large amount of the country's electricity (127 TWh). However, by 2024, this amount had dropped significantly to 72 TWh, which was about 26% of Great Britain's power.

This change is happening for two main reasons. First, the UK is using more renewable energy sources like wind and solar power. Second, the country has become better at saving energy, so the overall demand for electricity has gone down.

The End of the Coal Era

A big part of this energy shift was the decision to stop using coal. For over 100 years, coal was a major source of electricity in the UK. But it also creates a lot of pollution.

In 2015, the UK government announced a plan to close all its coal-fired power stations. To help with this goal, the UK co-founded the Powering Past Coal Alliance in 2017, an agreement between countries to move away from coal. The government set a final date to end all coal power by October 2024.

The United Kingdom had used coal to make electricity ever since the first major power station opened in 1882. But on April 21, 2017, for the first time in 135 years, Great Britain went a full 24 hours without using any coal power. This was a huge milestone. By 2024, coal was used to make less than 1% of the country's electricity. On September 30, 2024, the UK's electricity grid became completely free of coal power.

Where Are the UK's Gas Power Stations?

Here is a list of the main gas-fired power stations that are currently active in the United Kingdom.

Name	Location	Owner	Date Opened	Planned Closure	Capacity (GW)	Notes	Image
Ballylumford C	Northern Ireland	EPUKi	2003		0.62
Carrington	North West	ESB	2016		0.91
Connahs Quay	Wales	Uniper	1996		1.38	Uses a special type of natural gas called sour gas.
Coolkeeragh	Northern Ireland	ESB	2004		0.41
Corby	East Midlands	ESB	1994		0.41
Coryton	East England	Intergen	2002		0.80
Cottam Development Centre	East Midlands	Uniper	1998		0.45
Damhead Creek	South East	Vitol	2000		0.81
Didcot B	South East	RWE Generation UK	1998		1.45
Enfield	London	Uniper	1999		0.41
Grain CHP	South East	Uniper	2011		1.52
Great Yarmouth	East England	RWE Generation UK	2001		0.42
Keadby	Yorkshire and Humber	SSE plc	1994		0.74
Langage	South West	EPUKi	2010		0.91
Little Barford	East England	RWE Generation UK	1995		0.72
Marchwood	South East	Marchwood Power	2009		0.90
Medway	South East	SSE plc	1995		0.76
Pembroke B	Wales	RWE Generation UK	2012		2.20
Peterhead	Scotland	SSE plc	2000		1.18
Rocksavage	North West	Intergen	1998		0.81
Rye House	East England	Vitol	1993		0.72
Saltend	Yorkshire and Humber	Triton Power	2000		1.20
Seabank	South West	Seabank Power	2000		1.23
Shoreham	South East	Vitol	2000		0.42
South Humber Bank	Yorkshire and Humber	EPUKi	1997		1.37
Spalding	East Midlands	Intergen	2004		0.95
Staythorpe C	East Midlands	RWE Generation UK	2010		1.77	Built on the site of two older coal power stations.
VPI Immingham	Yorkshire and Humber	Vitol	2004		1.25
West Burton B	East Midlands	TotalEnergies	2013		1.33

See also

• List of power stations in England
• List of power stations in Northern Ireland
• List of power stations in Scotland
• List of power stations in Wales
• List of high-voltage transmission links in the United Kingdom