A call to site specialist diesel generators at Pembroke Power Station to help keep the lights on in the event of a National Grid shutdown has been given the thumbs-up by county planners.

In a screening application to Pembrokeshire County Council, RWE Generation UK PLC, through Ove Arup & Partners Ltd, sought to site up to six containerised diesel generators, diesel storage tank(s) and electrical connections at Pembroke Power Station, Pwllcrochan, near Pembroke.

The application site is within the site of the existing Pembroke Power Station, a combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) station which began commercial operation in September 2012, with a gross consented capacity of about 2,199 megawatts electric (MWe), replacing the previous oil-fired power station which operated for almost 30 years and was decommissioned in 1999.

A supporting statement says, subject to confirmation, it is considered to comprise permitted development, the scheme “a standalone plant, with its own fuel supply, capable of starting up, operating and shutting down independently from the power station”.

It adds: “It is required only in an emergency to maintain plant status and keep the power station operationally ‘ready’ in the event of a total or partial shutdown of the National Grid system. It is not required for the normal operation of the power station and does not extend its capacity, which remains as already consented, therefore it is not considered a change or extension.”

On need, it says it is mandatory that all electricity generators of over a megawatt have to adopt a new minimum standard of asset resilience; power stations “must be capable of restoring demand on the National Grid electricity transmission system in the event of a total or partial shutdown of the National Grid system,” the Power Station not currently meeting this new asset resilience standard.

It says construction is hoped to start in July 2026, lasting approximately nine to 12 months, the main part across the summer months.

The application was considered by officers to fall under permitted development, saying it “does not require Environmental Impact Assessment because the development, including cumulatively with other development in the locality, is not likely to have significant effects on the environment”.

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