Yorkshire power station to close with 180 job losses, says union

Unions said they believed site owner SSE was set to make a formal announcement about the future of the plant, which is near Pontefract and employs about 180 people.

SSE, which is publishing its full year results, declined to comment on the closure rumours.

Phil Whitehurst, national officer of the GMB union, said: “The power station has years of life left to supply electricity at a fraction of the price of other energy suppliers.

“As things stand the only thing consumers will get from some of these suppliers are higher bills. Unlike Ferrybridge none of the components and little of the labour will be sourced from the UK.”

Last night’s closure speculation came as Greenpeace warned that the European Union, which is reviewing existing air pollution rules for coal power stations, had been swayed by energy industry lobbying into proposing new standards which are weaker than those in China.

The environmental group’s UK chief scientist, Dr Doug Parr, said: “The dirtiest fossil fuel is not only a major driver of climate change, it’s also a threat to the health of thousands of people, including children.”