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| County Councillor
David Harrison at the construction site |
Marchwood Power Station, still under construction, was visited by a select group of local people.
The Marchwood Power Station Working Group meet on a regular basis to check construction progress and deal with any issues that have arisen or are likely to crop up in relation to operations on and off site.
This is a very large project, worth in excess of £400 million. Essentially, it involves the construction of a gas fuelled power station, next to the Solent, at Marchwood, neighbouring “The Dome”, the Energy from Waste facility that burns our household waste and also generates electricity.
The group were all required to wear safety clothing, including, boots jacket, goggles and hard hats. A guide showed them around the site which is still very much “work in progress”. A lot of the steel and concrete structures are now in place but a great deal of heavy equipment has yet to be moved onto site.
Councillor David Harrison, County Member for Marchwood, Chairs the Working Group, said “The tour was fascinating. The sheer scale of everything was quite breath taking. This new gas fuelled station will operate at 58% efficiency, contrasted with the 37% efficiency achieved by large coal burning power stations”.
The working group take up concerns expressed by local people. So far, there have been very few complaints. Work continues at a very brisk pace with minimal impact on the village.
Councillor Harrison is taking up an issue with Southern Water with regard to concerns expressed about the potential for a drop in water pressure when the new plant is operating. He says “A resident of the Admiralty Quay Estate is worried that the water pressure might be affected when the plant draws water from the mains.
Although we have reassurance from Marchwood Power that this won’t happen, it will help save worries if Southern Water confirm this is so”.
It is expected that the plant will start operating in November, although it will be several months after that when it will be operating at full capacity.
www.dharrison.org.uk |
