The Strange Case of Uskmouth Power Station

Photo: Nicholas Mutton, geograph.org.uk/photo/1986747

Note: This briefing has not been updated since October 2018. As of January 2020, the power station has not been converted, and the developers are instead commissioning a feasibility study into the possibility of burning pellets from Refuse Derived Fuel.

Uskmouth coal power station was mothballed in April 2017 amid claims that it would soon be run on pellets made from mixed waste that would otherwise go to landfill. This briefing shows that these claims aren’t credible, and that they may be masking plans to convert the site to run entirely on wood pellets made from virgin wood. A proposal that would be as disastrous for the climate
as it would for forests and local air quality.

The good news is that the company responsible, SIMEC Atlantis, also happen to own the UK’s foremost tidal lagoon experiments. Giving them a real choice as to where they put their investment. By calling the current subsidy system to account now, there is potential to stop a bad project and ensure new jobs in genuine renewables.

Click here to read our briefing for more information.