�20m Investment Helps Sembcorp Power Ahead

11th January 2005

A £20 million project to enhance Wilton Power Station and underpin jobs is up and running.

A new Gas Turbine and boiler plant at the 155 MW combined heat and power station, owned by Sembcorp Utilities UK, has been delivered on time and to budget.

The project, which created around 85 jobs during the construction phase and involved 200,000 hours of work, began generating its first electricity a year after construction work started.

Managed by SembSolutions, Sembcorp’s own in-house project team based at Wilton, work also involved the design, construction and commissioning of a “power island” by Aker Kvaerner’s AK Engineering Services business.

Phil Morland, Sembcorp Utilities UK’s Project Manager, said: “Our company has been working on this project for over three years, during which time we’ve encountered a change in ownership, changes in legislation and many other unexpected challenges.

“Sembcorp Utilities UK has delivered this project to our parent company and it is an important demonstration of our capability to grow Sembcorp’s business in the UK and further afield. We are looking forward to a bright future with confidence and optimism.”

The project was sanctioned by Sembcorp’s Singapore-based parent company within days of acquiring the utilities and services business in April 2003.

It marks a new chapter in the history of the station, which is at the heart of the Wilton International site and which supplies electrical power, steam and other utilities to many of the site’s blue chip manufacturers including Huntsman, INVISTA, Dow and DuPontSA.

The new plant is the first large-scale investment in new equipment at the station for 16 years. It generates 42 MWs of electricity – enough to power an area larger than Guisborough - and adds to the station’s overall reliability and environmental efficiency.

Paul Gavens, Sembcorp Utilities UK’s Managing Director, said: “This is a great achievement for everyone associated with the business and a real boost for utilities supplies on this site. Our customers require uninterrupted supplies of power and steam and this unit will significantly add to the reliability and flexibility of our electrical and steam supplies.”

Wilton Power Station has served the site for more than 50 years and more than 160 of Sembcorp’s near 600 employees are directly linked to its operations.

The new turbine has also brought about environmental benefits. The resulting closure of an oil-fired boiler at the station means substantially reduced emissions from the plant because the new plant burns a clean fuel - natural gas - using the latest “Dry Low Nox” technology.

Mr Gavens added: “The power station is already relatively energy efficient by virtue of the fact that we re-use much of the steam, but this will enhance its environmental performance even further.”

Mark Leggett, President of AK Engineering Services, said: “We are delighted that the project has been a success. We have built on Aker Kvaerner’s track record in similar projects worldwide. Our wealth of experience and knowledge and thorough understanding of the process and engineering issues has enabled us to deliver an optimised technical solution to Sembcorp.”

The picture shows Mr Morland (right) and Paul Gunn of Aker Kvaerner in front of the new boiler at the Wilton Power Station.