Gas-Fired Power Still Looks A Safe Bet For Centrica In The Renewables Era
I feel rather surprisingly, the title of this post, is the same as this article on the Guardian.
You’d think, that they would be critical of Centrica for keeping the gas power stations going.
But this is the sub-heading.
There will still be a need to have gas in the wings to keep the lights on, so the financials stack up on Severn plant purchase.
So why should Centrica buy a 832 MW closed cycle gas fired power station?
These posts describe, what Centrica have done at Brigg with another closed cycle gas fired power station.
- Construction Under Way To Double Power Station Capacity At Centrica’s Brigg Energy Park
- Hydrogen Milestone: UK’s First Hydrogen-to-Power Trial At Brigg Energy Park
Will Centrica be taking closed cycle gas fired power stations and making them more efficient to provide the back up to wind farms, when wind is having an off day?
I wouldn’t be surprised, if Centrica put a big battery on the two sites, as after all they are a godparent to Highview Power.
Are there any more closed cycle gas fired power stations, that they can acquire?
I asked, Google AI,”How many closed cycle gas fired power stations are there in the uk?” and received this answer.
As of early 2026, there are approximately 35 active combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power stations—often referred to as closed-cycle—in the UK.
These plants provide the bulk of the UK’s gas-fired capacity, totaling roughly 30-35 GW along with smaller, single-cycle (OCGT) plants which are used for backup.
Total Capacity: The total capacity of all gas-fired generation (CCGT and others) is approximately 35.7 GW.
Role in Power Mix: CCGTs are highly efficient and provide baseload power, while OCGT plants (about 14+ sites) are typically used for peak demand.
Key Locations: Major plants include Pembroke (RWE), Staythorpe (RWE), Didcot B (RWE), and Connah’s Quay (Uniper).
These plants remain the largest single source of electricity generation on the UK grid, though they are increasingly being paired with carbon capture proposals.
I think, that Engineer Baldrick is now working for Centrica and he has a cunning plan to use efficient CCGT power stations to back up the wind.
Consider.
- Severn power station is an 832 MW combined cycle power plant running on natural gas, which is located near Newport in South Wales.
- 4.5 GW of offshore wind is to be built near Port Talbot.
- Will some hydrogen generated by HiiROC be used to part-fire Severn power station and reduce its carbon footprint.
- South Wales can easily find space for a couple of Highview 300 MW/3.2 GWh CRYOBatteries.
- It would be useful to have a good-sized hydrogen store in South Wales.
That mix would surely provide enough reliable power for green steelmaking and a few data centres.
The Anonymous Widower 