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Rye House Power Station / Rye House Environmental Management

Emissions

Rye House Power Station emits minimal SO₂, as natural gas contains very low concentrations of sulphur.

New Dry Low-NO_x burner technology has ben fitted to two of the station’s three gas turbines, and as is in the process of being fitted to the other one, to reduce emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NO_x) to comply with the requirements of the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive (IPPC).

The new system replaces a previous Low-NO_x burner system and helps to optimise combustion performance, resulting in an improvement on previous NO_x emission levels of between 40-50%.

Levels of CO₂ emitted are lower compared with conventionally fired thermal power stations.

Biodiversity

Rye House Power Station is located on the edge of Lee Valley Regional Park, a major centre for wildlife and leisure that stretches from London to Hertfordshire. It is set in landscaped ground, which includes a 3.6 hectare conservation area.

It is an exceptional area for birdlife, with more than 200 species recorded, and it lays claim to being one of the most important sites in the UK for Bittern - a UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UK BAP) priority species.

Adjacent to the station is Rye Meads Nature Reserve, which is listed as a Special Protection Area (SPA) and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for its wetland bird communities.

Rye House Power Station, which was built on a brownfield site, is named as a key example of a naturally-regenerating urban habitat in the Hertfordshire Biodiversity Action Plan (HBAP).

Performance - 2008

• Rye House Power Station operated flexibly in response to market conditions in 2008 and generated 4,381 GWh of electricity - an increase of 45% from the total in 2007 (3,004 GWh).
• This significant increased production followed two successive years when major outages took place to install new generation gas turbine (GT) burners at Rye House.
• The new, high-efficiency GT burners have reduced NO_x emissions on two of the units by approximately 50%. The third and final burner is being fitted in 2009.
• The station continued to maintain high standards of environmental compliance - there were no breaches or incidents in 2008 and no community complaints.
• Station staff continue to tackle waste and the use of resources. Rainwater harvesting supplied 40% of the station’s process water in 2008. Further water savings are anticipated as measures identified in a water audit during 2008 are implemented.