Tilbury power station closes after 46 years

RWE nPower's 750MW Tilbury biomass-fired power station will close today after being refused financial support.

The plant runs solely on biomass after being converted from coal in 2011. It was one of the UK's largest sources of green energy, supplying 10% of the country's renewable power.

The power station is shutting down under the EU's Large Combustion Plant (LCPD) Directive, which limits the number of hours dated coal-fired power plants can operate for.

Originally RWE was reported to be redeveloping the site so as to meet Europe's environmental standards. However, the company later announced it was scrapping the plans after receiving government confirmation it would receive no low-carbon energy subsidy.

In a statement RWE said: 'In light of this, RWE has taken the decision not to proceed with the project as it is no longer economically viable under the existing Renewable Obligation (RO) mechanism.'