Winnington Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Plant Opened

Winnington Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant is officially opened.



Tata Chemicals Europe has recently officially opened a new steam turbine, hailed as one of the most efficient in the UK. The £5.5 million turbine is housed at their Winnington Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant which is operated by Business Heat and Power Solutions (BHPS), and is now one of the most efficient plants in the country, capable of providing energy for 200,000 households – an area roughly the size of Liverpool!
Working together to maximise the energy efficiency of this site is proof of the great relationship between Tata Chemicals Europe and E.ON.

Taking advantage of heat energy as steam and using it more effectively means we can help reduce this site’s carbon footprint while making sure a chemical works (which has been operating since 1874) continues to go from strength to strength in such a commercially challenging time.

The project - backed by a £2.5 million European Regional Growth Fund grant from the UK government - has taken 2 years to complete. It’ll help provide energy for Tata Chemicals Europe’s sites across Cheshire, local businesses in the area, and also for the National Grid. The steam used to generate electricity is a by-product of industrial procedures at the Tata Chemical plant, recapturing spent energy and reducing overall energy demands.

Generating this electricity means it doesn’t have to be generated elsewhere on the grid - saving 71,000 tonnes of CO2 in the UK, and going a long way to help the government meet decarbonisation requirements of a 75% reduction by 2030. The government is seeking to achieve nearly 60% reductions in carbon emissions by 2030 - this type of initiative is a crucial part of making this happen.

Peter Houghton (Tata Chemicals Europe’s General Manager for Energy) said: “This has been an unbelievably good project, and a really complex one that underpins our energy business moving forward. It simply could not be more important to the business.”

This new turbine is a great example of the way that EON's Business to Municipalities (B2M) works hand in hand with customers – their success is ultimately our success so the relationships are crucial.

As an employee of EON I am very proud of the investment and commitment shown in such important developments that secure business, jobs and improve our impact on the environment here in Cheshire.