• ScottishPower planning new 1000MW Combined Cycle Gas Turbine plant alongside existing Damhead Creek power station
• Planning application due to be submitted by Summer 2009
• New plant will support up to 1,000 construction jobs over three years
• When operational new power station will create 50 skilled jobs
• New power station will inject an estimated £27 million into the Medway economy per year

ScottishPower has announced plans for a new 1000MW Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) power station to be developed alongside the existing gas-fired Damhead Creek plant at Kingsnorth Industrial Estate near Hoo. The company hopes to submit a planning application under Section 36 of the Electricity Act to the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) in early summer 2009.

The new station - to be called Damhead Creek 2 – is estimated to cost approximately £500 million and will more than double the output of electricity from the existing plant.

“There is an immediate need to invest in new generation plants in the UK as older power stations come towards the end of their operational lives,” explained ScottishPower Chief Executive, Nick Horler. “Damhead Creek has been operating since 2001 and is ideally located for an extended power plant.”

The proposals for the new station will also ensure that carbon capture technology can be readily added to the plant.

In addition to doubling the power output, Damhead Creek 2 will also bring several key benefits to Medway, including 1,000 construction jobs as well as 50 permanent posts once the plant commences operations. Significant contracts for local businesses are anticipated during the construction phase and ScottishPower estimates that about £27m will be spent annually on local services throughout the intended 25-year lifetime of Damhead Creek 2.

Notes to Editors

• ScottishPower operates three gas-fired power stations in the UK. In addition to Damhead Creek the company has power plants at Hoddeston, Hertfordshire and Southwick, West Sussex.
• ScottishPower generates over 2,000MW electricity from its three gas-fired power stations. Once operating, Damhead Creek 2 will generate a further 1,000MW power.
• ScottishPower Renewables (SPR) is the biggest generator and developer of wind energy in the UK and has 19 operational windfarms in the UK and Ireland with a further three projects under construction. The combined operational output is approximately 600MW, enough clean green energy for 330,000 homes.

Media Information - Simon McMillan, 0141 566 4875, 07753 622 257