RWE npower has shut down its Tilbury B power plant in the United Kingdom, after the project was declared ineligible for the new Contract for Difference support mechanism for low carbon technologies. Tilbury B power plant was commissioned in 1967 as a coal-fired power plant (1,467 MW) and generated a total of 169 TWh during its lifetime. The power plant was scheduled to close under the EU’s Large Combustion Plant (LCPD) Directive, giving it 20,000 hours of operation from 1 January 2008. RWE decided to convert the plant to biomass in 2010 and a new 750 MW biomass-fired unit was commissioned in 2011, replacing the coal-fired plant that was taken off-line. However, the Department for Energy and Climate Change has confirmed that the project is ineligible for the new Contract for Difference support mechanism for low carbon technologies. In light of this, RWE has decided not to proceed with the project as it is no longer economically viable under the existing Renewable Obligation (RO) mechanism.
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