On the same day the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, announced his £20bn budget for nuclear power and carbon capture, the Keadby 2 gas-fired power station in North Lincolnshire fired up its boilers for its first day of service.

 Construction on the 893MW combined-cycle gas turbine station began in August 2018 when Siemens Energy partnered with SSE Thermal to engineer a plant that boasts efficiency of around 63 per cent, making it the cleanest and most efficient plant of its type in the UK and Europe.

The project sits adjacent to the already operational Keadby 1 Power Station.

The 9000HL 50Hz turbine at the heart of Keadby 2 also features 3D printed components and boasts the ability to reach full power in 30 minutes.

According to SSE, Keadby 2 has already been providing power to the grid during the commissioning phase but is now fully online.

The station is also capable of being upgraded to further decarbonise its generation through carbon capture or hydrogen power, as routes to market develop.

The development of a new gas-fired power plant remains controversial with environmental groups, but SSE claims the new power station will help enable a just transition for workers and communities that historically relied on coal-power.