SSE Thermal, Equinor buy £341m Triton Power

SSE Thermal and Equinor have agreed to acquire Triton Power Holdings Ltd from private equity firm Energy Capital Partners for £341 million.

SSE Thermal and Equinor will jointly own and run Triton Power on a 50:50 basis.   

“Triton Power operates Saltend Power Station which is 1.2GW CCGT (Combined Cycle Gas Turbine) and CHP (Combined Heat & Power) power station located on the north of the Humber Estuary in East Yorkshire,” said SSE.

Saltend Power Station is a potential primary offtaker to Equinor’s H2H Saltend hydrogen production project.

“H2H Saltend is expected to kick-start the wider decarbonisation of the Humber region as part of the East Coast Cluster, one of the UK’s first carbon capture, usage and storage clusters.

In addition, the portfolio includes Indian Queens Power Station, a 140MW OCGT (Open Cycle Gas Turbine) in Cornwall, and Deeside Power Station, a decommissioned CCGT in north Wales which provides carbon-free inertia to the system …

“The transaction underscores SSE Thermal and Equinor’s shared ambition to decarbonise the Humber, which is the UK’s most carbon-intensive industrial region, as well as the UK more widely.

“Initial steps to decarbonise Saltend Power Station are already underway, targeting partial abatement by 2027 through blending up to 30% of low-carbon hydrogen.

“In addition, carbon capture provides an additional valuable option for the site. SSE Thermal and Equinor will continue to work towards 100% abatement by 2035.”

The transaction is expected to complete in September subject to UK National Security Filing and EU Merger Control.

SSE Thermal MD Catherine Raw said: “Flexible energy will be absolutely essential as renewable energy scales up over the coming years, providing vital back-up while protecting security of supply.

“But the real prize will be how we decarbonise that flexible energy over the longer term, and we are excited, in particular, by the hydrogen and carbon capture opportunities at Saltend.

“Together with Equinor, we will explore every avenue to decarbonise Saltend and create new opportunities at other assets so they can play a continued role in a net zero future.

“We welcome our new colleagues and I look forward to working with them all as they play a critical role over the years ahead.”

Irene Rummelhoff, Executive Vice President Marketing, Midstream & Processing at Equinor, said: “This acquisition together with SSE Thermal demonstrates our commitment to building a broad energy partnership with the UK.

“We will continue to work to supply the UK market with reliable energy and to reduce emissions by offering a transition to hydrogen through our hydrogen project H2H Saltend.

“Contributing to flexible power supplies with low CO2 emissions to support weather-dependent renewable energy is essential to ensure energy security through the energy transition.”