0:00:02 > 0:00:04We take electricity for granted...
0:00:04 > 0:00:06Most people just think that electricity
0:00:06 > 0:00:09comes through a cable in the ground to your house and that's it.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12..and never give a second thought to how it's made.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15The flames are nice and bright and bushy.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17But behind the scenes,
0:00:17 > 0:00:20our power companies are struggling to keep the lights on.
0:00:20 > 0:00:22BEEPING
0:00:22 > 0:00:24The National Grid want that energy now,
0:00:24 > 0:00:27we can't afford to miss that instruction.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29This winter, we could face blackouts.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32You can't say, "I'm sorry, you'll have to turn your fridge off."
0:00:32 > 0:00:36It's a fire at a coal-fired power station.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39Power stations we've relied on for 50 years are coming down...
0:00:41 > 0:00:43..but bills and profits have gone up.
0:00:43 > 0:00:44Is anybody home?
0:00:44 > 0:00:47How can these profits be fair
0:00:47 > 0:00:50when people can't afford to pay for their energy?
0:00:50 > 0:00:54The energy giants are under fire from all sides.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57People hate you, let's be honest. They don't like you guys, right?
0:00:57 > 0:01:00I've been told to go hang myself by a customer.
0:01:00 > 0:01:04Right, I'm trying to help you, sir. Hello?
0:01:04 > 0:01:09Now, one of the country's biggest, SSE, has let the cameras in,
0:01:09 > 0:01:12filmed over one critical year.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15Basically, if we don't generate enough, the lights will go out.
0:01:15 > 0:01:19This is the surprising story of a hidden world...
0:01:19 > 0:01:21Voila! Une turbine.
0:01:22 > 0:01:24..as an army of workers...
0:01:24 > 0:01:26Good morning!
0:01:26 > 0:01:29..battle to keep our power flowing.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31We need to make a saving of half a million pounds.
0:01:33 > 0:01:34Where?
0:01:38 > 0:01:40This time...
0:01:41 > 0:01:44I think the writing's on the wall for quite a lot of UK coal, yeah.
0:01:44 > 0:01:48..the story of one of our biggest power stations...
0:01:48 > 0:01:50It's not what I expected.
0:01:50 > 0:01:52We have not got a contract.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55..as it fights to stay switched on.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59Coal is the past, so they say!
0:01:59 > 0:02:01We'll see what happens, eh?
0:02:12 > 0:02:15This is Ferrybridge C in West Yorkshire,
0:02:15 > 0:02:19one of only ten coal-fired power stations in the country
0:02:19 > 0:02:24that together provide a third of all our energy.
0:02:26 > 0:02:31Ferrybridge has been pumping out electricity since 1966.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36It's also an endangered species.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42It's still run from the original control room,
0:02:42 > 0:02:47where production shift controller Darren Smith is starting his day.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51- All this old technology... - It feels like going back in time.
0:02:51 > 0:02:52It feels like a Tardis.
0:02:52 > 0:02:56I think there's been one or two TV programmes filmed
0:02:56 > 0:02:57where they've used it as a backdrop.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00As a power station or a sort of Starship Enterprise?
0:03:00 > 0:03:04Well, as both, actually. I think it was on A Touch Of Frost.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07It's just been on DCI Banks.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12Darren has worked at Ferrybridge for 25 years.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20Gauges and dials and alarms.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23- It's ancient. - Very, very old technology.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29And this is what's keeping the lights on, still.
0:03:29 > 0:03:30Can you show me around a bit?
0:03:30 > 0:03:32Yes, I certainly can, yeah.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36Is this all the original, what, 1967...?
0:03:36 > 0:03:40Yeah, it is, with a bit of modern technology interspersed
0:03:40 > 0:03:43so what we've got is we've got a few computer screens now,
0:03:43 > 0:03:44a mixture of old and new.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48This is the control panel where Unit Three's operated from.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51At the moment, Unit Three is producing 477 megawatts
0:03:51 > 0:03:54of power which you can see on the red gauge up there.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57That's roughly the equivalent of a city the size of Leeds
0:03:57 > 0:03:59that it's producing power for at the minute.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04When Ferrybridge opened nearly 50 years ago, coal was king,
0:04:04 > 0:04:07providing 80% of all our power.
0:04:10 > 0:04:15This was the '60s - the era of the white heat of technology,
0:04:15 > 0:04:18when providing power night and day mattered more
0:04:18 > 0:04:21than whether you were polluting the planet.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24- NEWS REPORT:- Carnage is worst on the west-facing slopes
0:04:24 > 0:04:26where the prevailing wind bombards the forest
0:04:26 > 0:04:28with an extraordinary mixture of chemicals.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30But by the 1980s,
0:04:30 > 0:04:34concerns were growing about sulphur dioxide emissions
0:04:34 > 0:04:38from Britain's power stations causing acid rain across Europe.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43And then, in the '90s, the world started worrying
0:04:43 > 0:04:47about carbon dioxide emissions driving global warming.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58We began to crack down on the smoke from these chimneys.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03Now, power stations like Ferrybridge
0:05:03 > 0:05:06can only run for a strictly limited number of hours,
0:05:06 > 0:05:08unless their chimneys are fitted
0:05:08 > 0:05:11with expensive, hi-tech clean-up equipment.
0:05:11 > 0:05:17These flue gas desulfurization units, known as FGDs,
0:05:17 > 0:05:19take the sulphur out of their smoke.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22That screen just there is where we monitor the emissions
0:05:22 > 0:05:26and what's happened over the years is the Environment Agency
0:05:26 > 0:05:30have brought in limits that we have to operate to so, for example,
0:05:30 > 0:05:32we have to operate within certain limits for dust,
0:05:32 > 0:05:35certain limits for nox and certain limits for sulphur.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39The newest part of the control room, actually, is this desk here,
0:05:39 > 0:05:43the desk that controls the flue gas desulfurization plant.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46It's a bit like a huge chemistry set, really.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49- That's keeping it clean? - That's keeping it clean, yeah.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53That's keeping the SO2 emissions or sulphur emissions down.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07In its prime, Ferrybridge's four giant turbines
0:06:07 > 0:06:09pumped out 2,000 megawatts of power -
0:06:09 > 0:06:124% of the nation's electricity.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17But two of its turbines have recently been switched off
0:06:17 > 0:06:20because of EU rules about air quality.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24A reduced team of engineers,
0:06:24 > 0:06:27including maintenance controller Ken Valentine,
0:06:27 > 0:06:31must now keep the remaining two turbines running smoothly.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35- Quick and easy!- Eh?- Quick and easy!
0:06:37 > 0:06:38The best job!
0:06:42 > 0:06:44It must have been very different
0:06:44 > 0:06:49- when the other two units were running as well.- Er...
0:06:49 > 0:06:54Yeah, oh, yeah, we had more people. It was much busier. Erm...
0:06:54 > 0:06:58When we had the four units as well, we tended to be on...
0:06:58 > 0:07:00I don't know whether it's cos we've just got two units,
0:07:00 > 0:07:05but you tended to be on longer cos you'd 2,000 megawatts available.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08People like things in nice 2,000 megawatt lumps.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11What was it like when they shut them down?
0:07:13 > 0:07:15Strange.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18It's like you've always been used to having four units
0:07:18 > 0:07:22and you're quite proud of having four units, you know what I mean?
0:07:22 > 0:07:26We were the first 2,000 megawatt station that was ever built
0:07:26 > 0:07:30and everything so, yeah, you felt that the contribution
0:07:30 > 0:07:33you were making was a substantial one
0:07:33 > 0:07:37so when it went to two units, it was like the end of an era.
0:07:37 > 0:07:39It was really strange, really strange.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46But three months after losing half its turbines,
0:07:46 > 0:07:49Ferrybridge suffers another crippling bow.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54ALARM WAILS
0:07:56 > 0:07:59Disaster strikes one of the remaining units.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05So it's a fire at a coal-fired power station,
0:08:05 > 0:08:07which is in Ferrybridge in West Yorkshire.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10At one point, you could see the thick black smoke
0:08:10 > 0:08:14rising from here, 12, 15, 20 miles away across Yorkshire.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17You can see the building that has been worst affected.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19It's part of Ferrybridge C Power Station,
0:08:19 > 0:08:21some suggestions locally that that's one
0:08:21 > 0:08:26of the desulfurization plants that helps clean up the emissions here.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29The fire has destroyed Unit Four's FGD,
0:08:29 > 0:08:33its vital desulphurization equipment.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37Without it, the power station's future is in doubt.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40Worse, in the space of three months,
0:08:40 > 0:08:42the company has lost the equivalent
0:08:42 > 0:08:46of three major cities' worth of power from its portfolio...
0:08:46 > 0:08:48and from the nation's supply.
0:08:50 > 0:08:51The World At One.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55This is Martha Kearney with 45 minutes of news and comment.
0:08:55 > 0:08:56The National Grid has warned
0:08:56 > 0:08:59that Britain faces its tightest energy squeeze
0:08:59 > 0:09:01since the winter of 2006...
0:09:01 > 0:09:02In October 2014,
0:09:02 > 0:09:07three months after losing so much power from Ferrybridge,
0:09:07 > 0:09:09the National Grid announces that the difference
0:09:09 > 0:09:13between what we're generating and what we're using is now tight.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17Spare electricity capacity, which ran at about 5% last winter,
0:09:17 > 0:09:22would be nearer 4% this year. Three years ago, the margin was 17%.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26The last coal-fired power station was built 40 years ago,
0:09:26 > 0:09:29but, without the full supply from these big beasts
0:09:29 > 0:09:31keeping the lights on this winter, it will be a struggle.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33There are people who are saying the reason
0:09:33 > 0:09:36we have reached this point is because we're closing
0:09:36 > 0:09:40coal-fired power stations in order to meet our climate change targets.
0:09:46 > 0:09:52London, November 2014 - it's four months after the fire.
0:09:52 > 0:09:53The company that runs Ferrybridge
0:09:53 > 0:09:56must announce its half-yearly results.
0:09:57 > 0:10:01The company's chief executive, Alistair Phillips-Davies,
0:10:01 > 0:10:05knows he will face questions about the future of Ferrybridge.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07Is it any different talking to analysts
0:10:07 > 0:10:09and investors as opposed to the media?
0:10:09 > 0:10:13The media are looking for sound bites more.
0:10:13 > 0:10:15Everything's got to be about the consumer
0:10:15 > 0:10:20and/or they're looking for a sensationalist story of some sort -
0:10:20 > 0:10:23the lights going out or something.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27I find them a little more negative.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31What's bad that's going to happen, basically, tell us the bad stuff.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35Investors, obviously they've got to earn returns.
0:10:35 > 0:10:36They manage your pensions,
0:10:36 > 0:10:41they manage money on behalf of all the people in this country.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44They've got to earn money so, for them, a lot of it's around
0:10:44 > 0:10:49what are the prospects for the future, that's the key thing.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52That great line, "Show me the money", basically.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56Hi, can I give you that one? That'd be great, thanks so much.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58- How are you?- Yeah, I'm great, thank you very much.
0:10:58 > 0:11:04The company has made £370 million profit over the last six months,
0:11:04 > 0:11:07but for the City analysts gathered to hear the results,
0:11:07 > 0:11:10figures are only part of the picture.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12They're also keen to hear
0:11:12 > 0:11:14about the state of the company's fleet of power stations,
0:11:14 > 0:11:17especially its thermal assets,
0:11:17 > 0:11:21the older gas and coal power stations, including Ferrybridge.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23We have wholly owned thermal assets
0:11:23 > 0:11:26that can play an important part in keeping the lights on this winter.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29Ferrybridge, where Unit Three returned to service
0:11:29 > 0:11:31before the end of last month.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34We could operate Unit Four
0:11:34 > 0:11:37so it can contribute to the security of the country's energy supply,
0:11:37 > 0:11:39but it will require agreement
0:11:39 > 0:11:41that it can run in parallel with Unit Three.
0:11:41 > 0:11:45If the fire-damaged Unit Four is to be restarted,
0:11:45 > 0:11:48it will need approval from the Environment Agency.
0:11:52 > 0:11:57Two weeks later, there is some good news for Ferrybridge.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00Unit Four can be put back into service,
0:12:00 > 0:12:05as long as it keeps its emissions under strict control.
0:12:05 > 0:12:06That's it, OK.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10Today, Ferrybridge's engineers
0:12:10 > 0:12:14will begin the process of bringing Unit Four back to life.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17WHIRRING
0:12:17 > 0:12:19Unit Four, call back.
0:12:19 > 0:12:26Hi, Colin, we're down next to the PA fans so ready when you are.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30Having been switched off for so long,
0:12:30 > 0:12:33the unit has to be coaxed back to life slowly.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40It's a long, drawn out process that involves heating the boiler
0:12:40 > 0:12:45and the turbine so it's not damaged by any sudden change in temperature.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55The boiler burns pulverised coal
0:12:55 > 0:12:59to temperatures in excess of 650 degrees Fahrenheit,
0:12:59 > 0:13:02turning water into high-pressure steam.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06Look at the lower burners, you can see that they're a lot larger flame.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09The flames are nice and bright and bushy.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13Everything's looking OK.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21The aim of the process is to pass high pressure steam
0:13:21 > 0:13:25through the turbine so that it spins a shaft that's connected
0:13:25 > 0:13:28to an alternator that converts mechanical energy
0:13:28 > 0:13:31in the spinning shaft into electrical energy.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36So this is the turbine speed.
0:13:36 > 0:13:40Now I've put steam to set, the turbine speed's picking up.
0:13:40 > 0:13:44- What's it got to get to?- 3,000.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50When it's spinning at 3,000 revolutions per minute,
0:13:50 > 0:13:52it'll be running at the same frequency
0:13:52 > 0:13:54as all the power stations in the country.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58At that point, the unit can be synchronised
0:13:58 > 0:14:02or connected to the National Grid...
0:14:02 > 0:14:06with the help of the power station's original 1966 synchroscope.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10It just needs a little persuasion.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13Is it the oldest bit of kit in the plant?
0:14:13 > 0:14:17It's probably twice as old as me, yeah.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19It's not a complex device,
0:14:19 > 0:14:22but it's the quality of the build which is important
0:14:22 > 0:14:23so if you can see,
0:14:23 > 0:14:29we're trying to get this slightly faster than the Grid when we sync.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33How do you know how fast the Grid's going?
0:14:33 > 0:14:36It tells us the relationship between...
0:14:36 > 0:14:40- The Grid's a constant 50hz. - 50hz, OK.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43And this is just the speed of our machine
0:14:43 > 0:14:46related to the Grid before we synchronise.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50Just making sure these voltages are within...
0:14:50 > 0:14:53How will you know when it's ready to go?
0:14:55 > 0:14:59We get a "check synchro" light.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02We also know that about 12 o'clock
0:15:02 > 0:15:04is when we're in phase with the Grid.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06Then you flick a switch.
0:15:06 > 0:15:08- So we're in our window now. - BELL RINGS
0:15:08 > 0:15:11So are you guys all right if I sync next time?
0:15:11 > 0:15:13So, next time round...
0:15:16 > 0:15:18There's no point hanging around,
0:15:18 > 0:15:20otherwise we might lose turbine diffs.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23So, coming up to 12 o'clock, closing...
0:15:24 > 0:15:26That's the unit unload.
0:15:27 > 0:15:29We're up to 15 megawatts.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37So that's Unit Four back working for the first time since the fire?
0:15:37 > 0:15:38That's correct, yeah.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42With Unit Four connected to the National Grid,
0:15:42 > 0:15:46its electricity is now effectively for sale.
0:15:46 > 0:15:51Like any commodity, electricity is bought and sold on the market
0:15:51 > 0:15:55at constantly fluctuating prices which reflect supply and demand.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00The National Grid is the carrier of the electricity
0:16:00 > 0:16:02and it has to make sure supply and demand
0:16:02 > 0:16:05are matched across the whole country.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09Key to the system are energy traders.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12SSE's are based in the company's offices in Scotland.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20They're at the heart of everything the business does,
0:16:20 > 0:16:24making deals and contracts over a range of timescales,
0:16:24 > 0:16:29from several years to just 24 hours ahead.
0:16:29 > 0:16:30If there's a shortfall
0:16:30 > 0:16:34in what the company's power stations are generating,
0:16:34 > 0:16:36the day ahead team must replace it,
0:16:36 > 0:16:40either with electricity bought in the market
0:16:40 > 0:16:44or by switching on another of their power stations, whichever is cheaper.
0:16:44 > 0:16:50You're looking at what's going on live across the UK now.
0:16:50 > 0:16:51Yeah, so the main things for me
0:16:51 > 0:16:55are seeing where the UK National Grid system is, where the margin is
0:16:55 > 0:16:58and if they're forecasting to have enough power to meet all demand
0:16:58 > 0:17:01so I'm looking at this sheet here
0:17:01 > 0:17:04to see a projected out-turn of the system margin.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06Hang on a second, the system margin?
0:17:06 > 0:17:09The system margin is the balance or imbalance
0:17:09 > 0:17:12that the National Grid will see between all the plant
0:17:12 > 0:17:15they have down to generate against all the demand
0:17:15 > 0:17:17that they forecast for that certain time.
0:17:17 > 0:17:21That's not about SSE, that's what the Grid expects for the country.
0:17:21 > 0:17:23Yeah, yeah.
0:17:23 > 0:17:25So currently, across the evening peak,
0:17:25 > 0:17:27which is round about half past six, seven o' clock,
0:17:27 > 0:17:29we have all of our flexible hydro committed.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33We have five coal plants running full load, running base load
0:17:33 > 0:17:36and we have two gas plants running.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39At the minute, what I'm looking at is we are currently 30 megawatts
0:17:39 > 0:17:42short of our full demand requirement for the evening peak,
0:17:42 > 0:17:45which is about half past six to seven o'clock,
0:17:45 > 0:17:46and we don't have any other plant
0:17:46 > 0:17:49that we can schedule just for that half-hour.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52What tricks have you got up your sleeve for tonight?
0:17:52 > 0:17:53You're 30 short, is that right?
0:17:53 > 0:17:55Yeah, I don't really have any tricks.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57We're only really left with the option of buying it
0:17:57 > 0:18:00from the market so, at the minute, what the market is offering
0:18:00 > 0:18:02is much more expensive than I'm willing to pay
0:18:02 > 0:18:05so I'll wait until it gets closer to the time,
0:18:05 > 0:18:07closer to about five o'clock.
0:18:09 > 0:18:13The day ahead traders buy and sell electricity in virtual time,
0:18:13 > 0:18:17an hour and a half ahead of real time.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20The idea is to stop the traders from making last-minute deals
0:18:20 > 0:18:24that could overload the grid or leave it short of electricity,
0:18:24 > 0:18:29either of which could result in the lights going off.
0:18:29 > 0:18:33Gates open and close an hour and a half ahead of the 30 minute blocks
0:18:33 > 0:18:36in which electricity is traded.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40I'm putting the numbers up that I'm willing to buy or sell at.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43On this side, you have all those willing to sell
0:18:43 > 0:18:45and the volume they're willing to sell at
0:18:45 > 0:18:47so the volumes of megawatts they want to sell and their price
0:18:47 > 0:18:49and then, on the other side,
0:18:49 > 0:18:51the price that people are willing to buy at.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53This is the part that's a bit like eBay.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56"If that's a price that works for me, do I sell at that price
0:18:56 > 0:18:58"because that's what works and that's a good price?
0:18:58 > 0:19:00"Or do I wait to see if the value increases
0:19:00 > 0:19:03"and I get a better value for the megawatts I'm generating?"
0:19:03 > 0:19:08- Feels like a really complicated board game to me.- Yeah!
0:19:09 > 0:19:12Yeah. So I want to sell, change my volume...
0:19:14 > 0:19:16Sell.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23Back at Ferrybridge with both units now in service,
0:19:23 > 0:19:27the power station is running at the beck and call of the market,
0:19:27 > 0:19:29which it was never designed to do.
0:19:31 > 0:19:35When Ken Valentine joined as an electrical fitter in 1978,
0:19:35 > 0:19:40the units were run for extended periods without interruption,
0:19:40 > 0:19:41sometimes for months on end.
0:19:44 > 0:19:48Since privatisation in the '90s, it's run differently.
0:19:50 > 0:19:56A lot of the kit's really old. It's an old-fashioned type place.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59It's built to base load,
0:19:59 > 0:20:02which means you switched it on and you ran it
0:20:02 > 0:20:05until it had to fall off for whatever reason,
0:20:05 > 0:20:06through a breakdown.
0:20:06 > 0:20:10But it was designed to run all the time in a steady state.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13I suppose it's like your car.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16If your car's running along on a nice, good road
0:20:16 > 0:20:21at a nice, steady speed, you'd expect it to last a lot longer
0:20:21 > 0:20:24than it getting thrashed through town, changing gears,
0:20:24 > 0:20:26wearing your clutch out.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28That's the sort of analogy you could look at it.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31So why does it have to be switched on and off all the time?
0:20:31 > 0:20:33It's all money, at the end of the day.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35Everything's down to money, isn't it?
0:20:35 > 0:20:37Yeah, everything.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43With the plant struggling to cope
0:20:43 > 0:20:46with the constantly changing demands of the Grid,
0:20:46 > 0:20:49a maintenance team of mechanical and electrical engineers
0:20:49 > 0:20:54must continuously patch up the ageing machinery.
0:20:54 > 0:20:55Where are we going, then?
0:20:56 > 0:21:01It's the HP heater platform, just out on Unit Four, just out here.
0:21:01 > 0:21:05- So what have you got to do? - I'm changing that gasket.
0:21:07 > 0:21:11- Massive, massive gasket.- So, heavy engineering, then?- Hell yeah!
0:21:27 > 0:21:29It's broken. That's what it should look like.
0:21:42 > 0:21:47Right, Ken, that's that job complete. Another success story.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49Ripping!
0:21:49 > 0:21:53- Were it just that gasket, then? - It were just that gasket, yeah.
0:21:54 > 0:21:59So I changed that and the valve operates fantastically well now,
0:21:59 > 0:22:04thank you, so there's no exception, final clearance.
0:22:04 > 0:22:06Grab some lunch and then we'll start again.
0:22:06 > 0:22:08We'll get tore into another job, yeah.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11- Thank you very much, Dave. - You're very welcome.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14How much does repairing something like that save SSE?
0:22:14 > 0:22:19I think it's about £30,000 a day per heater bank
0:22:19 > 0:22:22in a loss in efficiency.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25So, you can see it's quite important
0:22:25 > 0:22:28that it plays its part in the efficiency side of things.
0:22:28 > 0:22:34So, yeah, it's a lot of money, isn't it? We're saving some.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39So Dave's wages and Joe's wages for the last couple of hours
0:22:39 > 0:22:43have been well earned in this case!
0:22:43 > 0:22:47When you started here, was there a completely different culture?
0:22:47 > 0:22:49- Cos it was state owned, wasn't it? - It was the CGB.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52Their ethos was, "We'll keep the lights on."
0:22:52 > 0:22:57Now, it's, "We'll make sure our shareholders get a return,"
0:22:57 > 0:22:59whichever way you want to look at it.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02Before, they didn't have to pay shareholders
0:23:02 > 0:23:07so all the money was reinvested or went back to the government
0:23:07 > 0:23:09to reinvest in other things or whatever, didn't it,
0:23:09 > 0:23:11with being state owned.
0:23:11 > 0:23:15But that's gone now so you just have to deal with what you've got.
0:23:15 > 0:23:19One and a half million people have applied to buy shares
0:23:19 > 0:23:21in National Power and Powergen.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25When Ferrybridge was privatised in 1991,
0:23:25 > 0:23:28Britain had a healthy electricity surplus.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33At first, the new energy market was like the Wild West.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36But alongside smaller generators,
0:23:36 > 0:23:38gradually a big six
0:23:38 > 0:23:40of private companies emerged,
0:23:40 > 0:23:42who both generated
0:23:42 > 0:23:43and sold our power.
0:23:45 > 0:23:47In that time, we've gone from surplus
0:23:47 > 0:23:50to coming close to running out of power.
0:23:52 > 0:23:57And the government has started to intervene more and more in the market,
0:23:57 > 0:23:58with price guarantees,
0:23:58 > 0:24:01carbon-reduction targets and subsidies.
0:24:07 > 0:24:08Before privatisation,
0:24:08 > 0:24:12Ferrybridge never had to convince the government of its value.
0:24:14 > 0:24:16But now it, and power stations like it,
0:24:16 > 0:24:19are being made to bid for a contract.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23If the government thinks Ferrybridge's price is right,
0:24:23 > 0:24:29it could make a difference between staying open or closing for good.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32Right, well, a bit earlier than I thought it were going to come...
0:24:32 > 0:24:37but we've had the provisional results of the auction from...
0:24:37 > 0:24:39Tuesday.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42The provisional results are out today, published by National Grid.
0:24:42 > 0:24:44The team have had to bid for a contract
0:24:44 > 0:24:47based on the lowest possible price per kilowatt
0:24:47 > 0:24:51they think they can afford to generate at.
0:24:51 > 0:24:53It's not what I expected,
0:24:53 > 0:24:56but there's a few good points and a few bad points in this.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58The bad points are we have not got a contract.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00Ferrybridge has not got a contract.
0:25:00 > 0:25:02It's come out at £19.40 a kilowatt,
0:25:02 > 0:25:05so these payments are nowhere near
0:25:05 > 0:25:08what people were expecting to get anyway.
0:25:08 > 0:25:10We'll just have to...
0:25:10 > 0:25:13figure it out, and see where we go from here.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15OK, like I say, I'll leave one of them out,
0:25:15 > 0:25:17I've got a copy...
0:25:17 > 0:25:19and there's stuff on the internet,
0:25:19 > 0:25:21and then have a think and if there's any questions
0:25:21 > 0:25:24I'm sure loads of questions will come up -
0:25:24 > 0:25:26and we'll pass them on.
0:25:26 > 0:25:27In the meantime...
0:25:29 > 0:25:31..carry on as normal.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33If you lot have a normal.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35- Carry on as abnormal.- Thank you.
0:25:35 > 0:25:39Had you been feeling optimistic, or...
0:25:39 > 0:25:40confused?
0:25:40 > 0:25:42Confused, I think, really.
0:25:42 > 0:25:44All right. For me, anyway.
0:25:44 > 0:25:45And...
0:25:46 > 0:25:49Pessimistic, I suppose, I am, really.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52Yeah, it is a bit. I mean, they're not...
0:25:52 > 0:25:55- Not looking great for coal, is it?- No.
0:25:55 > 0:25:56No.
0:25:56 > 0:25:58Is that what you expected?
0:25:58 > 0:25:59No, not at all.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01I was expecting to, erm...
0:26:03 > 0:26:06I would've thought both Units Three and Four would have got it, to be honest with you.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10Erm... It looks like one of the units at Fiddler's Ferry has failed, as well.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13Which is also a non-FGD unit, so...
0:26:15 > 0:26:16Yeah.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18Bit of a shock, really, I suppose.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20What does it mean?
0:26:20 > 0:26:22Erm... Well, I suppose,
0:26:22 > 0:26:25in some respects, it means that we're...
0:26:25 > 0:26:30Well, we're not going to be participating in the capacity market, so,
0:26:30 > 0:26:32there's a chance that...
0:26:32 > 0:26:36Well, the units aren't going to make as much income, I wouldn't imagine.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38Erm... I'm not sure what the long-term implications are,
0:26:38 > 0:26:40to be fair.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44I suppose we'll just have to watch this space.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46Thank you.
0:26:47 > 0:26:51Not winning a contract places a big question mark over the future.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56But for now, the team must keep calm and carry on.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02As we make life harder for coal-fired power stations,
0:27:02 > 0:27:05the big winners are wind farms.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11Encouraged by successive governments' subsidies,
0:27:11 > 0:27:16SSE has followed the money and is now one of the UK's biggest generators
0:27:16 > 0:27:17of renewable energy.
0:27:20 > 0:27:22The jewel in the company's crown is here -
0:27:22 > 0:27:27Greater Gabbard, the world's second largest offshore power station.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30It stands deep in the North Sea,
0:27:30 > 0:27:3215 miles off the Suffolk coast.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37But wind power has its own problems.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40It costs us, the bill-payers,
0:27:40 > 0:27:42massive sums to build and maintain.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46Keeping these 140 wind turbines turning
0:27:46 > 0:27:50is a full-time occupation with its own challenges.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56Every day here at the Lowestoft control centre,
0:27:56 > 0:27:59a team of 120 technicians gathers,
0:27:59 > 0:28:03ready to make the two-hour boat journey out to the site.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06- What time is it?- 20 minutes.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09Control Room supervisor Johannes DuPlessis
0:28:09 > 0:28:14is in charge of monitoring wind speeds, wave height, and ocean swell.
0:28:14 > 0:28:16He determines whether it is safe
0:28:16 > 0:28:18for the crew to make the 30-mile round trip.
0:28:20 > 0:28:26Today we've got a max wave height between 2.4 and 2.8 metres.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29That's when it gets very choppy out there.
0:28:30 > 0:28:34We have had waves recorded up to seven metres and such.
0:28:34 > 0:28:37So, yeah, it can very rough out there.
0:28:37 > 0:28:38And very quickly, also.
0:28:38 > 0:28:42So, during a year, how often are you not able to go out?
0:28:42 > 0:28:45It's about 42% of the time.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48The availability for access for last year
0:28:48 > 0:28:51was 57.72 that we got on them.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54But then that leaves 42% of downtime that we cannot access the turbines.
0:28:57 > 0:29:01- Coffee?- Love one, kid. White one, please.
0:29:01 > 0:29:06- A tea, too, please.- It's very rare he makes them, actually!
0:29:07 > 0:29:09Frank, what's going on?
0:29:09 > 0:29:11Not a lot. Weather day today, I'm afraid.
0:29:12 > 0:29:14What does that mean?
0:29:14 > 0:29:16It means no sale, no work.
0:29:16 > 0:29:18Loads of coffee.
0:29:18 > 0:29:21And a nice breakfast!
0:29:21 > 0:29:23Nice bit of weather out there, nobody's going out, so...
0:29:23 > 0:29:25This is the downside of wind farming.
0:29:25 > 0:29:28You want to be out, really, cos we had a weather day yesterday.
0:29:28 > 0:29:30Tomorrow's not looking too good, either.
0:29:30 > 0:29:32So, yeah, it's a bit strange for this time of year.
0:29:32 > 0:29:34The only good thing going on out there today
0:29:34 > 0:29:37is plenty of wind generation off the turbines.
0:29:37 > 0:29:39The turbines'll be doing what they should do,
0:29:39 > 0:29:40but, obviously, we're not.
0:29:42 > 0:29:45- See you in the morning. - Yeah, see you in the morning.
0:29:46 > 0:29:49The turbines may be inaccessible by boat,
0:29:49 > 0:29:51but they still need maintaining.
0:29:54 > 0:29:56Step aboard, gentlemen.
0:29:58 > 0:30:01To ensure that at least some of the crews make it to work,
0:30:01 > 0:30:05the company keeps a helicopter on permanent standby.
0:30:07 > 0:30:09PILOT:
0:30:13 > 0:30:14How many teams are offshore?
0:30:14 > 0:30:16Round about 35 teams offshore today.
0:30:18 > 0:30:21Basically, a turbine at its full rate of production on a windy day
0:30:21 > 0:30:23will make roughly £10,000 a day.
0:30:23 > 0:30:26And that's why the investment in a helicopter
0:30:26 > 0:30:28to restore generation for two or three days,
0:30:28 > 0:30:31that we might lose if the boats can't get out there.
0:30:31 > 0:30:32That's why the helicopter's worth it.
0:30:34 > 0:30:36PILOT:
0:31:13 > 0:31:17Since 2007 the company has invested over £3.5 billion
0:31:17 > 0:31:19in wind generation.
0:31:24 > 0:31:27But not everyone is a believer.
0:31:27 > 0:31:31Are you what certain people call a wind sceptic?
0:31:31 > 0:31:33Erm...
0:31:34 > 0:31:37Have you ever looked on Grid Watch?
0:31:38 > 0:31:41You can go on and there's loads of analogue dials.
0:31:41 > 0:31:44And it'll show you what's being generated by what different type?
0:31:44 > 0:31:46Yeah. So let's have a look.
0:31:48 > 0:31:50- We'll see what wind is doing today. - OK.
0:31:53 > 0:31:57- For the record, it's a wet day in Yorkshire.- Yeah.
0:31:57 > 0:32:00A wet... It's fairly breezy, isn't it?
0:32:00 > 0:32:02Wind today is doing...
0:32:02 > 0:32:045.36 gigawatts.
0:32:06 > 0:32:07What is that...? Sorry.
0:32:07 > 0:32:10That's what it's producing at the moment.
0:32:10 > 0:32:13Coal is doing the lion's share, is it? Or is it gas?
0:32:13 > 0:32:15Today it's coal, yeah. Coal today.
0:32:15 > 0:32:16And wind is doing...?
0:32:16 > 0:32:1812%.
0:32:18 > 0:32:20So, wind's great,
0:32:20 > 0:32:22but it's not windy all the time.
0:32:22 > 0:32:25You can't say, "I'm sorry it's not very windy today,
0:32:25 > 0:32:29"you'll have to turn your fridge off and you can't watch EastEnders.
0:32:29 > 0:32:32"And I'm sorry that operation can't go ahead."
0:32:32 > 0:32:34Yeah, whatever.
0:32:34 > 0:32:37Do you think sometimes you're on the wrong side of history here?
0:32:37 > 0:32:39Somehow you're, erm...
0:32:39 > 0:32:41kicking against change?
0:32:41 > 0:32:42THEY LAUGH
0:32:42 > 0:32:44Coal's wonderful stuff. Brilliant.
0:32:44 > 0:32:47There's millions and millions and millions of tonnes
0:32:47 > 0:32:48of the stuff down there.
0:32:48 > 0:32:50- Yeah.- Yeah.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53Come the next ice age, we'll be building hand-over-fist
0:32:53 > 0:32:55coal-powered stations.
0:32:55 > 0:32:58Get some sulphur into the atmosphere - heat it up.
0:33:00 > 0:33:02But for the powers that be at SSE,
0:33:02 > 0:33:04it's wind that's the future.
0:33:06 > 0:33:10And today at Greater Gabbard there's no shortage of it.
0:33:12 > 0:33:14After a 20-minute flight,
0:33:14 > 0:33:17the technicians are about to be dropped off at work.
0:33:20 > 0:33:23With its 140 turbines covering 91 square miles,
0:33:23 > 0:33:28Greater Gabbard cost £1.7 billion to build.
0:33:31 > 0:33:35It generates enough power for half a million homes a year,
0:33:35 > 0:33:38energy which is fed back to shore
0:33:38 > 0:33:41via sub-sea cables over 25 miles long.
0:33:44 > 0:33:46PILOT:
0:33:52 > 0:33:55A turbine has been temporarily shut down
0:33:55 > 0:33:59to allow the helicopter to winch the technicians onto its roof,
0:33:59 > 0:34:02150 metres above the North Sea.
0:34:27 > 0:34:30For technicians Clive Moore and Martin Middleton,
0:34:30 > 0:34:32this is the regular commute to work.
0:34:36 > 0:34:37Have you got the pipe?
0:34:37 > 0:34:39I will have in a minute.
0:34:39 > 0:34:43Today they have been flown in to apply some lubrication.
0:34:44 > 0:34:47Like any mechanical or electrical bit of equipment,
0:34:47 > 0:34:49they need maintaining.
0:34:49 > 0:34:53Just like your car, you have to check all your levels,
0:34:53 > 0:34:54your grease, your oil...
0:34:57 > 0:34:59This is grease...
0:34:59 > 0:35:02which we are going to send through into the grease hopper.
0:35:04 > 0:35:05Good to go.
0:35:05 > 0:35:08Had a low warning on grease on the turbine,
0:35:08 > 0:35:10so we need to check the system.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13Make sure that bearings don't become low on grease.
0:35:14 > 0:35:17If not, it can cost quite a lot of money to repair that sort of thing.
0:35:19 > 0:35:21Seems a big effort for just a bit of grease.
0:35:21 > 0:35:23It may well seem like that,
0:35:23 > 0:35:27but if you think it would probably cost £1 million to put it back
0:35:27 > 0:35:29if they don't have a grease,
0:35:29 > 0:35:31then it's not really.
0:35:32 > 0:35:34Are you a fan of offshore wind?
0:35:34 > 0:35:35It's clean.
0:35:35 > 0:35:37It's good for the environment.
0:35:37 > 0:35:40Got to be the main factors, hasn't it?
0:35:40 > 0:35:42I mean, no pollution...
0:35:42 > 0:35:45You can't knock that, can you? Can't knock it.
0:35:45 > 0:35:47Plus this is a beautiful environment to work in!
0:35:47 > 0:35:50So, for us...
0:35:50 > 0:35:52it's a win-win situation, really.
0:35:55 > 0:35:59To have 140 structures out here not really bothering anyone...
0:36:01 > 0:36:03It's crazy not to make it bigger and bigger.
0:36:05 > 0:36:07Fine job, Mr Moore.
0:36:07 > 0:36:09HE CHUCKLES
0:36:11 > 0:36:16Wind now accounts for nearly 10% of all our electricity.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20But the energy it produces is costly
0:36:20 > 0:36:22and has to be heavily subsidised by us.
0:36:24 > 0:36:28Is it fair that this private industry gets so much subsidy?
0:36:29 > 0:36:33I think anything that is new needs some support, needs some help.
0:36:33 > 0:36:36Offshore wind is expensive, but we definitely need it.
0:36:36 > 0:36:39I'm sure in the early days when you had the first steam train,
0:36:39 > 0:36:41that needed a little bit of help, as well, but we didn't
0:36:41 > 0:36:44get rid of trains because they were expensive in the first year.
0:36:44 > 0:36:49So, at 1.6 billion - has this paid for itself yet?
0:36:49 > 0:36:51Ooh, erm...
0:36:52 > 0:36:56I don't actually know when the wind farm will pay for itself, to be honest.
0:36:57 > 0:37:00Even a wind farm the size of Greater Gabbard
0:37:00 > 0:37:03can only supply 8% of the energy produced
0:37:03 > 0:37:06by a major coal-fired power station like Ferrybridge.
0:37:09 > 0:37:13Britain is one of the world's windiest countries.
0:37:17 > 0:37:21But we are also richly endowed with seams of good-quality coal.
0:37:22 > 0:37:27Power stations like Ferrybridge were built on top of them,
0:37:27 > 0:37:29but since the pits were closed,
0:37:29 > 0:37:31there's no-one left to dig the coal out.
0:37:36 > 0:37:39Now it has to be shipped in from abroad.
0:37:44 > 0:37:49It arrives at ports like this - Hunterston on the Clyde...
0:37:50 > 0:37:53..right next to a nuclear power station.
0:37:53 > 0:37:57This ship has come from Colombia in South America -
0:37:57 > 0:38:02a four-week journey bringing some 170,000 tonnes of coal.
0:38:03 > 0:38:08It'll take seven days working around the clock to unload its cargo,
0:38:08 > 0:38:14before putting it onto trains to transport it to SSE's two coal-fired power stations -
0:38:14 > 0:38:16Fiddler's Ferry and Ferrybridge.
0:38:21 > 0:38:28Most of the coal is Colombian, Russian and USA.
0:38:28 > 0:38:31There's a lot of American coal on the market just now
0:38:31 > 0:38:34because the Americans are fracking gas at the moment.
0:38:34 > 0:38:39So there's an abundance of American material on the market just now.
0:38:39 > 0:38:43This train today is going to be taking 1,550 tonnes,
0:38:43 > 0:38:46which takes approximately 20 minutes to load, which is quite good.
0:38:46 > 0:38:49If you were to put that into terms of lorries and stuff,
0:38:49 > 0:38:54you would be all day, whereas in the space of about an hour
0:38:54 > 0:38:57we can have this train turned round.
0:38:57 > 0:38:59- Are you a fan of coal?- Yes, very much so.
0:39:01 > 0:39:05I'm obviously more for coal than I am wind power.
0:39:05 > 0:39:07I says, I'm not too keen. The only thing I would
0:39:07 > 0:39:11say about staying in this area is we've got a nuclear power station
0:39:11 > 0:39:14down there, and there seems to be more objections to trains
0:39:14 > 0:39:16leaving here with coal on it than there does having a
0:39:16 > 0:39:21nuclear power station, which I don't really understand.
0:39:21 > 0:39:23Wind farms, basically, you can't regulate them.
0:39:23 > 0:39:27It's the amount of windmills that you'll actually need.
0:39:27 > 0:39:28Yes, I'm a fan of coal,
0:39:28 > 0:39:32because I don't want to be going back to the dark days where
0:39:32 > 0:39:36basically we're getting blackouts and stuff like that.
0:39:44 > 0:39:48The coal plant at Ferrybridge is a range of black hills,
0:39:48 > 0:39:51each of different coal from around the world.
0:39:51 > 0:39:55Back in the day, when its four units ran without interruption,
0:39:55 > 0:40:01it wasn't unusual to receive 17 coal train deliveries in 24 hours.
0:40:01 > 0:40:03But not any more.
0:40:03 > 0:40:08Global warming has turned coal into the bad boy of electricity generation.
0:40:10 > 0:40:14Yorkshire was once awash with coal-fired power stations,
0:40:14 > 0:40:16but nearly all have gone.
0:40:16 > 0:40:21Wakefield, Doncaster, Huddersfield, Bradford, Kirkstall,
0:40:21 > 0:40:24the list of closed coal stations goes on and on.
0:40:27 > 0:40:30Coal-fired power stations are dying on their feet.
0:40:36 > 0:40:38So you've worked here a while?
0:40:38 > 0:40:41- 30 years.- 30 years?- 30 years, yeah.
0:40:41 > 0:40:44I started on station services, where I used to be a driver
0:40:44 > 0:40:47and I used to enjoy it.
0:40:47 > 0:40:48Where are we heading to now?
0:40:48 > 0:40:53I'm going to take you up to the bunkers, where the coal goes in
0:40:53 > 0:40:58to be fed through to the mills to be ground down.
0:40:58 > 0:41:00So I'll...
0:41:00 > 0:41:03We'll park up here and take you up into the bunker house.
0:41:07 > 0:41:12This is...where all the coal is kept.
0:41:15 > 0:41:17That's an empty bunker.
0:41:17 > 0:41:20That is the only one that is no longer in use any more.
0:41:20 > 0:41:23The government shut this unit down, and Unit Two,
0:41:23 > 0:41:26so we're only a two-unit station now.
0:41:26 > 0:41:29How does it make you feel to see these things not working?
0:41:29 > 0:41:33Bit saddened, really, because it's our job security, at the end of the day.
0:41:33 > 0:41:36So back in the day, all these would've been running?
0:41:36 > 0:41:39They were all running 24 hours a day, yeah.
0:41:39 > 0:41:4124 hours a day.
0:41:41 > 0:41:432,000 tonne, they hold.
0:41:43 > 0:41:45- 2,000 tonne?- Yep.
0:41:45 > 0:41:49I'll show you Unit Three, which has just been filled up.
0:41:52 > 0:41:55There was a big change across society in deciding not to
0:41:55 > 0:41:56use these things any more,
0:41:56 > 0:41:59to move away from using coal to generate our power.
0:41:59 > 0:42:01See, it's a European thing.
0:42:01 > 0:42:04They've said because of the emissions.
0:42:04 > 0:42:09But they're building coal-fired stations in Germany, by all accounts.
0:42:09 > 0:42:14But they've got the specialised equipment from the start.
0:42:14 > 0:42:20- It would cost us a lot of money to put them on ours.- Yeah.
0:42:20 > 0:42:24- It's all to do with pollution. - Yeah, climate change.
0:42:24 > 0:42:27This is Unit Three.
0:42:27 > 0:42:30How many tonnes are in here?
0:42:30 > 0:42:32About 1,500 tonnes in all.
0:42:32 > 0:42:34And that will get it through what?
0:42:34 > 0:42:38That's a good four or five hours here.
0:42:38 > 0:42:41What do you reckon to all these wind farms and things then?
0:42:41 > 0:42:43When you drive down the A1 and you see all these new wind farms,
0:42:43 > 0:42:45do you think they're good for the future?
0:42:45 > 0:42:49Good if it's windy, but not for the future, no.
0:42:49 > 0:42:52When it's cold in November, December, January,
0:42:52 > 0:42:55when it's freezing, there's usually not a lot of wind,
0:42:55 > 0:42:59so they need a hell of a lot of them wind farms. Nothing like this.
0:42:59 > 0:43:01But don't you worry about things like climate change?
0:43:01 > 0:43:05- Do you think that's, you know...? - I don't think it's us.
0:43:05 > 0:43:09I think it's other countries who ought to worry about it, not us.
0:43:09 > 0:43:12China, America, they're a lot more worse than us.
0:43:12 > 0:43:14And they're doing nothing.
0:43:14 > 0:43:17So, for me, I'm not worried about it, no.
0:43:17 > 0:43:21All these tree huggers, nope, not bothered. Nothing for me.
0:43:31 > 0:43:35What I'll do, I'll take you round to the yellow brick road and show you round the back.
0:43:35 > 0:43:39You'll be able to get a glimpse of the future there.
0:43:39 > 0:43:40The multi-fuel place.
0:43:41 > 0:43:45As coal power stations are being edged towards history,
0:43:45 > 0:43:48the Holy Grail is to find new forms of renewable energy that
0:43:48 > 0:43:50are both green and reliable.
0:43:56 > 0:44:00Right next door to the coal-fired plant at Ferrybridge,
0:44:00 > 0:44:04SSE and a partner company are building a new power station.
0:44:06 > 0:44:10One that makes electricity by burning household rubbish, instead of coal.
0:44:12 > 0:44:16This new multi-fuel plant has been under construction for three years,
0:44:16 > 0:44:19at a cost of £300 million.
0:44:20 > 0:44:23This is the largest energy waste site in the UK.
0:44:23 > 0:44:28We take in treated waste into the plant, we burn the waste,
0:44:28 > 0:44:32we produce the energy, I think it's 68 megawatt, out the other side.
0:44:32 > 0:44:34It's a cleaner type of energy.
0:44:34 > 0:44:38Technology has driven the fact that this is now the most feasible way.
0:44:38 > 0:44:42Take away from landfill, you know, we're putting in a reasonably
0:44:42 > 0:44:46dry, clean fuel and we're not polluting the atmosphere.
0:44:46 > 0:44:49It's a fantastic concept, fantastic idea.
0:44:50 > 0:44:54But not all the differences are for the better.
0:44:54 > 0:44:59The new multi-fuel plant can only generate around 7% of the power
0:44:59 > 0:45:02produced by its older neighbour's two turbines.
0:45:02 > 0:45:05In its day it was 2,000 megawatts, this is 68,
0:45:05 > 0:45:08so my maths is probably worse than yours.
0:45:08 > 0:45:11You know, a coal-fired station versus an energy waste station
0:45:11 > 0:45:13is a completely different concept.
0:45:13 > 0:45:15It's a dual role.
0:45:15 > 0:45:18We're going to take waste away from landfill,
0:45:18 > 0:45:20we're going to produce electricity,
0:45:20 > 0:45:23we're going to boost with 160,000 homes.
0:45:23 > 0:45:26It's definitely a better way for the future, absolutely.
0:45:28 > 0:45:32Monitoring progress from his office window in the coal-fired power station
0:45:32 > 0:45:36is senior engineer Mike Till, who, after 50 years
0:45:36 > 0:45:40in the energy business, has just been rewarded for his services.
0:45:40 > 0:45:44- Tell me about it.- Yeah, I can certainly tell you about it, yeah.
0:45:44 > 0:45:46Put that card to one side. There we go.
0:45:46 > 0:45:50Oh, wow, it's a proper medallion, medal.
0:45:50 > 0:45:54Yes, it says on it, "For God and the Empire."
0:45:54 > 0:45:56It's the MBE.
0:45:56 > 0:46:00It doesn't actually say MBE on the actual medal.
0:46:00 > 0:46:02What's the citation for you?
0:46:03 > 0:46:08Services to the energy sector and the community of Castleford.
0:46:08 > 0:46:10To the energy sector?
0:46:10 > 0:46:14So this is in recognition of your, how can I put it, long career?
0:46:14 > 0:46:16Yes, indeed.
0:46:16 > 0:46:19The investiture was at Windsor Castle yesterday.
0:46:19 > 0:46:21- Who did it?- The Queen.
0:46:21 > 0:46:24- Yes, it was officiated by the Queen. - What did she say?
0:46:24 > 0:46:26She jokes a bit about the power industry...
0:46:26 > 0:46:29Did she ask you about her bills or anything?
0:46:29 > 0:46:33No, nothing as basic as that.
0:46:33 > 0:46:38It was basically the fact I've got a long career within the industry,
0:46:38 > 0:46:3950 years this year, and she said,
0:46:39 > 0:46:41"Oh, you've seen a lot of changes then?"
0:46:41 > 0:46:45And so we went into coal-fired power stations, to gas-fired power stations,
0:46:45 > 0:46:49to the emphasis on the environment that there is now.
0:46:49 > 0:46:55I'm intrigued she should say that you've seen such a lot of change,
0:46:55 > 0:46:58coal, gas, to the future, and I was wondering, it makes me
0:46:58 > 0:47:00think of what's behind you.
0:47:00 > 0:47:03Well, I suppose, the only difference between this power station here
0:47:03 > 0:47:05and the multi-fuel is the fuel.
0:47:05 > 0:47:09I mean, you've got a boiler which is tubes full of water
0:47:09 > 0:47:12converted to steam, the steam is then heated, superheated,
0:47:12 > 0:47:15and fed to the actual steam turbine,
0:47:15 > 0:47:19which produces the energy via the generator.
0:47:19 > 0:47:22Do you think it's the future?
0:47:22 > 0:47:26It certainly saves a lot of just dumping of waste.
0:47:26 > 0:47:29The by-product is we're generating energy from it.
0:47:29 > 0:47:33Granted, the amount of generation is quite small overall,
0:47:33 > 0:47:37- compared with these size of plants. - Do you know what it is?
0:47:37 > 0:47:41It's 60, 65 megawatts, something of that sort.
0:47:41 > 0:47:44- Percentage, this used to be 2,000 megawatts.- Indeed.
0:47:44 > 0:47:46Yes, and I suppose
0:47:46 > 0:47:51when you look at the investment in the multi-fuel plant, from a
0:47:51 > 0:47:56cost perspective, then, you know, you can do a lot with these plants.
0:47:56 > 0:47:59What do you mean, if you spent the money which you spend on that...
0:47:59 > 0:48:01Yeah, rather than having the multi-fuel,
0:48:01 > 0:48:04if we'd put FGDs on One and Two they'd still be operating now,
0:48:04 > 0:48:07and of course you would have 1,000 megawatts on Units One and Two,
0:48:07 > 0:48:11compared with the 63 megawatts there.
0:48:13 > 0:48:18It's now April 2015, and at the company's Glasgow office,
0:48:18 > 0:48:21the executive committee are holding their last monthly meeting
0:48:21 > 0:48:24before they must announce end of year results.
0:48:24 > 0:48:29Once again, wind farms are on the agenda.
0:48:29 > 0:48:32All right folks, I'd like to present the Clyde extension wind farm
0:48:32 > 0:48:35for gate three approval.
0:48:35 > 0:48:41The capex we're requesting is £216.58 million.
0:48:41 > 0:48:43The committee has to make recommendations to the
0:48:43 > 0:48:47board about the direction of the business, including investment
0:48:47 > 0:48:50to double the size of one of its existing wind farms.
0:48:50 > 0:48:53A big, challenging project, of course.
0:48:53 > 0:48:57- But I think we've a good team on it.- All right.
0:48:57 > 0:49:02Everybody happy for it to go forward to main board approval in May,
0:49:02 > 0:49:04just prior to the results?
0:49:04 > 0:49:08£216.58 million, and not a penny more.
0:49:08 > 0:49:11- THEY LAUGH - Thank you very much.
0:49:12 > 0:49:17One of the things that struck me was that today we heard mention of wind,
0:49:17 > 0:49:21we heard mention of gas, we didn't hear anything about coal,
0:49:21 > 0:49:24and I wondered what the future is for coal?
0:49:24 > 0:49:27Coal, I think, is challenged, at the moment.
0:49:27 > 0:49:31We're certainly going through some difficult conversations about what we do with coal.
0:49:31 > 0:49:33We'll have to wait and see,
0:49:33 > 0:49:36but the future of coal in this country is tricky right now.
0:49:36 > 0:49:37Coal plants are losing money,
0:49:37 > 0:49:41and there may be some hard decisions that we and others will have to take.
0:49:41 > 0:49:45Government policy is not heading in that way, decarbonisation
0:49:45 > 0:49:47and all those things are not really heading in that way,
0:49:47 > 0:49:50so there's just a whole bunch of issues
0:49:50 > 0:49:53that are conspiring against coal at the moment.
0:49:53 > 0:49:55So the writing's on the wall?
0:49:55 > 0:49:58I think the writing's on the wall for quite a lot of UK coal, yeah.
0:49:58 > 0:50:02Over the next five years I think we will see some
0:50:02 > 0:50:05significant closures, and maybe some of that much sooner.
0:50:15 > 0:50:19At Ferrybridge, Units Three and Four have now been running
0:50:19 > 0:50:22for almost four months, but both are due to be
0:50:22 > 0:50:26switched off for their annual outage, or service, in a matter of weeks,
0:50:26 > 0:50:31and there's mounting concern about the station's future.
0:50:31 > 0:50:34- What's going on? Come on, give us the lowdown.- Today?
0:50:34 > 0:50:38Well, just generally with Ferrybridge life. How's spirits?
0:50:38 > 0:50:40I don't think they're too...
0:50:40 > 0:50:42HE LAUGHS NERVOUSLY
0:50:42 > 0:50:44Erm...
0:50:44 > 0:50:48I think they're probably a little bit down at the minute, I would imagine.
0:50:49 > 0:50:50Why is that?
0:50:50 > 0:50:53The fact that the budgets seem to be getting cut left, right and centre,
0:50:53 > 0:50:56and I suppose, in a way, that's kind of getting people
0:50:56 > 0:50:57worried about their jobs a little bit.
0:50:57 > 0:51:00Which budgets are being cut? Which ones?
0:51:00 > 0:51:02There's been various, actually.
0:51:02 > 0:51:07One of the big ones that's been cut is the actual outage budget for Unit Three.
0:51:07 > 0:51:09That's the kind of summer servicing?
0:51:09 > 0:51:10Yeah, so what happens is, every
0:51:10 > 0:51:14so many years the units have to come off and they get basically
0:51:14 > 0:51:16shut down for a prolonged period.
0:51:16 > 0:51:19Anything up to 12 to 20 weeks.
0:51:19 > 0:51:23Unit Three was due for its major outage next week.
0:51:23 > 0:51:25It's still going ahead, the outage,
0:51:25 > 0:51:29but it's going ahead with a vastly reduced budget.
0:51:29 > 0:51:32I think that's got a few people concerned.
0:51:32 > 0:51:35- What do you read from that? What do you take from that budget situation?- Erm...
0:51:39 > 0:51:43I think the thing you could take from it is, I suppose you
0:51:43 > 0:51:48could call into question the lifespan of the station, probably.
0:51:48 > 0:51:50Are they cutting the budget
0:51:50 > 0:51:53because they're wanting to fall short on the station's life,
0:51:53 > 0:51:57or are they cutting the budgets simply because of financial pressures?
0:51:59 > 0:52:00It's hard to say, really.
0:52:02 > 0:52:05And it's not just the budget for the outage that's being cut.
0:52:10 > 0:52:15Richard came by earlier, Monday, and said,
0:52:15 > 0:52:18"I've just been told I need to find £500,000.
0:52:18 > 0:52:20Who's Richard?
0:52:20 > 0:52:25Richard Robson is my boss's boss, sort of thing.
0:52:27 > 0:52:31He came by and said, "We need to make a saving of £500,000."
0:52:31 > 0:52:33Where?
0:52:35 > 0:52:38Have we got £500,000, you know what I mean?
0:52:38 > 0:52:41But, yeah, apparently the budgets are getting cut and cut and cut,
0:52:41 > 0:52:42and we need to save money.
0:52:44 > 0:52:47Because they're not making as much money out of Ferrybridge?
0:52:47 > 0:52:50They're not investing as much money in Ferrybridge,
0:52:50 > 0:52:53so you don't do work.
0:52:53 > 0:52:55You just say, "Well, I'll not take that to pieces
0:52:55 > 0:52:57"and put it back together again."
0:52:57 > 0:53:00And somewhere down the line it comes and bites you on the backside
0:53:00 > 0:53:05because you haven't maintained it, and it'll just come and get you,
0:53:05 > 0:53:08and then there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
0:53:08 > 0:53:10"Oh, no. No, we need it to work.
0:53:10 > 0:53:14"Do you know how much money we're losing?"
0:53:14 > 0:53:16Martin looked at that.
0:53:19 > 0:53:21WHIRRING
0:53:22 > 0:53:25Makes a noise!
0:53:25 > 0:53:28WHIRRING
0:53:28 > 0:53:31When I retire and leave here, I want this place to keep going.
0:53:33 > 0:53:35Because I think it's an asset for the country.
0:53:36 > 0:53:41It's not... It don't make, I don't know...
0:53:41 > 0:53:43balloons or whatever,
0:53:43 > 0:53:46where you can get that from anywhere, sort of thing.
0:53:46 > 0:53:50It makes electricity and people really, really...
0:53:50 > 0:53:52The world runs on it, doesn't it?
0:53:52 > 0:53:55You can't de-invent it, take it away, can you?
0:53:55 > 0:53:57People wouldn't stand for it, would they?
0:53:59 > 0:54:03Two days before the summer outage there are more worrying
0:54:03 > 0:54:05developments for the staff at Ferrybridge.
0:54:07 > 0:54:12This time, it's the supply of coal itself which is causing anxiety.
0:54:13 > 0:54:17What's going on at the moment? You're running low on coal, is that right?
0:54:17 > 0:54:20Yeah, Unit Four is supposed to be coming off on 9th April,
0:54:20 > 0:54:23but, as you have seen, Russian coal is low-sulphur coal,
0:54:23 > 0:54:25what that burns isn't going
0:54:25 > 0:54:29to last that long, so it's coming off tomorrow night, by all accounts.
0:54:29 > 0:54:31Is that it, do you reckon?
0:54:31 > 0:54:34They've told the traders, by all accounts,
0:54:34 > 0:54:36it will be coming off then.
0:54:36 > 0:54:38But is that just off for the summer or do you reckon...?
0:54:38 > 0:54:41Yeah, they're both... No, it'll be coming back on,
0:54:41 > 0:54:44it's just they're both going off for major outages.
0:54:45 > 0:54:47That's the Russian there, is it?
0:54:47 > 0:54:49This is what's left of the Russian here, yeah.
0:54:49 > 0:54:52Is it usual to run out of coal?
0:54:52 > 0:54:55Er, no, not really.
0:54:55 > 0:54:57But...
0:54:57 > 0:55:00I've never known it before.
0:55:00 > 0:55:03Coal is the past, so they say.
0:55:03 > 0:55:06Do you not believe it?
0:55:06 > 0:55:10There'll be a shortfall of electric somewhere along the line.
0:55:10 > 0:55:15And the wind farms ain't the answer. For me, anyway.
0:55:15 > 0:55:17- Why is that? - We'll see what happens, eh?
0:55:28 > 0:55:33It's a month since Ferrybridge closed for its summer maintenance.
0:55:33 > 0:55:37And in London, the company is due to announce its end of year results.
0:55:40 > 0:55:43Once again, analysts gather, and, once again,
0:55:43 > 0:55:46the future of Ferrybridge is on the agenda.
0:55:46 > 0:55:48Morning. How are you?
0:55:49 > 0:55:52Financially, it costs over £50 million a year simply to keep
0:55:52 > 0:55:54a station like Ferrybridge open.
0:55:54 > 0:55:58Environmentally, it is a major emitter of CO2,
0:55:58 > 0:56:01and therefore a contentious source of electricity.
0:56:01 > 0:56:02Against this background,
0:56:02 > 0:56:07we've concluded we should not reopen Unit Four of Ferrybridge,
0:56:07 > 0:56:10where equipment was badly damaged during last summer's fire.
0:56:10 > 0:56:13We've also concluded that Unit Three should be
0:56:13 > 0:56:16closed by the end of the current financial year, which will
0:56:16 > 0:56:19mark the end of coal-fired generation for the station.
0:56:23 > 0:56:29Ferrybridge is set to be closed for good in early 2016,
0:56:29 > 0:56:31with the loss of around 180 jobs,
0:56:31 > 0:56:35although some staff will be redeployed.
0:56:35 > 0:56:38- See you later.- See you. Have a good weekend.- And you.
0:56:41 > 0:56:43If you had to go to Ferrybridge to speak to the workforce there,
0:56:43 > 0:56:45what would you be telling them?
0:56:45 > 0:56:47I think exactly what we said.
0:56:47 > 0:56:50It was a very, very tough decision for us.
0:56:50 > 0:56:54The plant is old, the closure is inevitable, given where government policy is going.
0:56:54 > 0:56:56One of the people who works there,
0:56:56 > 0:56:57who's worked the longest, said to me,
0:56:57 > 0:56:59"Oh, there's a downer on coal."
0:56:59 > 0:57:02One of the great understatements of our last six months,
0:57:02 > 0:57:07and presumably this is the final expression of that downer on coal.
0:57:07 > 0:57:09Yeah, slightly unfortunate terminology,
0:57:09 > 0:57:12but, yeah, people are moving away from coal.
0:57:12 > 0:57:15We're responding to what the nation's telling us
0:57:15 > 0:57:17because they're voting in politicians
0:57:17 > 0:57:19and governments who are making that policy.
0:57:25 > 0:57:29'The new confidence that supply margins in the industry
0:57:29 > 0:57:32'as a whole are such that we will avoid the risk of blackouts,
0:57:32 > 0:57:35'even if we get a very harsh winter.'
0:57:35 > 0:57:38Certainly, everything I hear from the National Grid
0:57:38 > 0:57:42and Secretary of State indicates that they're comfortable.
0:57:42 > 0:57:45We're certainly doing our bit in terms of providing information,
0:57:45 > 0:57:49and indeed Ferrybridge won't close until the end of the winter.
0:57:49 > 0:57:52But, ultimately, I think that question has to go to them.
0:58:21 > 0:58:25Try putting together your own power grid with the Open University's
0:58:25 > 0:58:27Power My Postcode interactive tool.
0:58:27 > 0:58:30Go to...