THE St Neots power station has been given a £100million upgrade to be more environmentally friendly.

The Little Barford Power Station, part of RWE Generation, opened in 1996 and at full capacity could generate 680MW of electricity - enough to power half a million homes.

In the last year, two gas turbines and control system have been replaced and its boilers, steam turbines, generators and other plant components have been upgraded to extend the life of the plant to 2025.

The upgrade has also led to increased fuel efficiency and generation capacity, meaning an additional 30,000 homes can be powered by the plant.

It has also reduced emissions, with nitrogen oxide levels dropping by 40 per cent and save the equivalent of 118,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.

Kevin Lindley, power station manager said: “We are extremely pleased with how the upgrade has gone, everyone involved in the project has worked hard to ensure that all work was managed successfully and responsibly. We would like to thank all of our people on site and the local community for their continued support.”

“We are exceeding all expectations, the new gas turbines are showing lower than expected fuel consumption and CO2 emissions per unit of power generated.

“We look forward to generating power for the East of England and the rest of the UK for many years to come.”