WORKERS at a power station near Selby have been given a boost after a major investment secured the plant's future.

The coal-fired station at Ferrybridge, west of Selby, was due to reduce output in 2008 before closing in 2015.

But the owners, Scottish and Southern energy (SEE) have announced a £225 million investment which means it stays open.

SSE bought the Ferrybridge plant, along with the Fiddler's Ferry station in Cheshire, for £136 million in July last year. The two plants have a capacity of 2,000 megawatts each, and together produce five per cent of Britain's electricity.

The firm is to install flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) equipment at the stations. FGD equipment removes at least 94 per cent of sulphur dioxide, one of the main causes of acid rain, and produces the saleable product, gypsum.

SSE chief executive Ian Marchant said: "We believe that installing FGD represents a good investment opportunity and a step forward in environmental terms. It will also extend the contribution of our coal-fired plant to the security of the UK's energy supplies and means that we will continue to have the country's most diverse generation portfolio."

Updated: 10:26 Monday, November 21, 2005