MAJOR anti-pollution equipment at Drax Power Station could be shut down for up to 18 months, it was revealed today.

And if Europe's largest coal-fired station fails to secure a substantial increase in its authorised emission levels, it could be closed down by the summer.

National Power was today locked in urgent talks with Environment Agency pollution inspectors to discuss the implications of the "worst case scenario."

The £680 million flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) equipment at Drax was shut down almost a month ago after cracks were discovered in all 12 booster fans.

The FGD plant filters out about 90 per cent of sulphur dioxide, the main constituent of acid rain, as well as particulates.

If the booster fans cannot be repaired and have to be replaced, Drax admits it will substantially exceed the 100,000 tonnes a year of sulphur dioxide it is currently allowed to emit.

The station's head of environment, David Campbell, said: "We would use up our 100,000-tonne allocation by the middle of this summer.

"If nothing was to happen and we couldn't secure an increase in permitted emission levels, the Environment Agency could shut us down.

"We would then be replaced by dirtier coal-fired stations because even without FGD, Drax is still the cleanest plant in the UK."

Station manager Dr Derek Cheetham said that tests were being carried out today on the stress levels of the fans to see if they could be repaired.

If all the fans had to be renewed, Drax could be without its FGD filters for up to 18 months.

He said: "There's a lot of sensible discussion going on with the Agency about a variation in our emission limits.

"We're also trying to burn lower sulphur coal to reduce emissions, and there's no question of burning petcoke."

Drax is saving over £1 million a month by not running its FGD equipment, but Dr Cheetham said it wasn't in the company's interests to "shilly-shally" over the problem just to save money.

He said: "I am keen to get the FGD equipment back on line as soon as possible, and so are the workforce and the manufacturers."

Environment Agency spokeswoman Jean Varley said discussions were being centred on how long the FGD plant would be down, and whether the station's annual emission limits would have to be reviewed.

She said: "Drax is presently operating within its limits, but we need to know what it intends to do in the medium term.

"We want to see the FGD plant restored as quickly as possible. It is a generic problem with the fans and nothing to do with petcoke."

Selby District Council leader Geoff Lynch said: "If the Environment Agency isn't flexible on emission levels, generating capacity at Drax would be severely affected, as would production in the Selby coalfield."

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