Longannet Power Station EMAS STATEMENT 2012

In recent years station management andstaff have been conscious of the pressingchallenges facing Longannet as itapproaches its 40th anniversary.

The environmental and political landscapehas altered dramatically since Scotland’slargest generating station became fullyoperational in 1973.

We recognise the demanding challengeswe must meet if Longannet is to have asuccessful long-term future.

That’s why, in December 2012, welaunched an important new strategy – TeamLongannet: Securing the future beyond 2020.

Simply put, it will need team action,everyone pulling in the same direction, toensure the plant can look forward withconfidence.

We must work together to meet ever-tightening legislation on emissions andidentify what must be done to get the ageingplant in shape.

And crucially, Team Longannet mustdemonstrate a strong case for investment toextend the life of the station – by beingreliable, efficient, compliant andprofitable.

Team Longannet: Securingthe future beyond 2020 laysthe foundation forLongannet to continueoperating for many years tocome.

The strategy consists offour separate work streams –looking at People,Housekeeping, Maintenance andCombustion.

The People work stream will provide theright leadership and support to energise ourworkforce and engage with our mission.

Housekeeping is about improving our ownenvironment, making the station a safer,healthier and more enjoyable place to work.

The team involved in Maintenance willdeliver a strategy that drives productivity andimproved plant availability. And finally, theCombustion work stream will concentrate onour main purpose in life – generating themost electricity we can from each tonne ofcoal whilst at the same time minimising our

impact on the external environment.This will be achieved by improving the

performance of our coal mills and boilers andfine tuning the complex processes involved.Improving combustion has a direct impact onour emissions to air.

Delivering the work streams will bechallenging – and exciting.

We hope the reward will be Longannet’soperational life being extended, possiblytowards 2030.

That would safeguard the jobs of ourcolleagues and contractors, offer the Scottishcoal industry a long-term future and provide

security of energy supply for homes andbusiness in Scotland.

Innovation and ingenuity havealways been trademarks of our

workforce and I amconfident they will rise tothe challenge again.

Next year will see anexample of innovation in

action as the station closesin on a solution to reducing

one of our key emissions toair, oxides of nitrogen (NOX).

The forthcoming IndustrialEmissions Directive (IED) will introduce strictnew targets for NOX emissions when it comesinto force in January 2016.

Being able to meet the new limits for NOX isa critical element of the plan to secure ourfuture – and we will be the first power stationin the UK to test a particular suite of cutting-edge NOX reduction technologies, covered inmore detail later in this statement.

We are starting to benefit from oursubstantial investment in abatement toreduce our sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions.Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD) is aimed at

C O N T E N T S

OVERVIEW OF LONGANNET POWERSTATION, THE SECOND LARGESTCOAL-FIRED PLANT IN THE UK

Introduction

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EXPLAINING THE STRUCTURE OF THE STATION’S ENVIRONMENTALMANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Our EMS

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A SUMMARY OF ENVIRONMENTALLEGISLATION AND THE FUTURECHALLENGES FACING LONGANNET

Key Issues

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EXAMINING THE STATION’S INPUTSAND OUTPUTS FOR 2012 AND OURENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE

Station Processes

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WE LIST OUR CURRENT OBJECTIVESAND REPORT ON THE PROGRESS TODATE IN ACHIEVING OUR TARGETS

Targets & Achievements

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LONGANNET AND ITS STAFF HELPA WIDE RANGE OF COMMUNITYPROJECTS AND GOOD CAUSES

Social & Community

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THE STATION AIMS TO WORK INHARMONY WITH THE WILDLIFE THATTHRIVES ON OUR SITES

Conservation & Biodiversity

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A USEFUL REFERENCE TO THE TERMSAND ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE2012 EMAS STATEMENT

Glossary of Terms

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DECLARATION FROM THE VERIFIEROF THE ECO-MANAGEMENT ANDAUDIT SCHEME (EMAS)

EMAS Validation

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INTRODUCTION by IAN CHISHOLMStation Manager

page 02

Our team effort to s

The Securing the Future strategy is

being reinforced with newbranding and staff are

encouraged to listen in to adaily message recorded by

Station Manager Ian Chisholmabout plant status, keymessages and key tasks

for the day.

scrubbing our SO2 emissions from three unitsby up to 94% and enabling us to comply withthe IED’s limits on sulphur.

Unit 1 FGD operated for much of the yearand the reduction in SO2 emissions from theunit has been dramatic. We can look forwardto FGD being commissioned on Units 2 and 3in the year ahead.

The station also benefited from a multi-million pound investment in 2012 to improveUnits 2 and 4.

The scope of outage work for Unit 2 was, infact, the largest we have seen at the stationfor many years and included the replacementof some of the station’s original componentsfor the first time.

Our outages were not without their

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challenges – but most importantly, they weredelivered safely and will improve ourperformance going forward.

This year’s Eco-Management Audit Scheme (EMAS) Statement contains a mixture of success stories from a busy year inthe life of Longannet – and an outline ofsome of our actions to secure our future inthe months ahead.

There were also occasions in 2012 when wedid not meet our own high expectations –these are reported too, along with what weare doing to up our performance.

In many ways, 2013 will be a defining yearfor Longannet – but we will continueoperating with one eye on a long-term futurewhile continuing to deliver for today.

Longannet Power Station, the largest in Scotland,produces electricity through the combustion offossil fuels and biomass.

The station, its managers and employees arefully committed to Scottish Power and theIBERDROLA Group’s environmental policies andprinciples. We are also committed to theScottishPower Generation’s “Respect theEnvironment goal”, ensuring we minimise ourenvironmental impacts, preventing pollutionwherever possible.

Our Environmental Management System detailsthe responsibilities and procedures for ensuringthe requirements of all environmental legislationand company policies are complied with using adocumented and maintained system.

Longannet will measure, monitor and audit itsenvironmental performance; working togetherwith the business environment team and, whereappropriate, set achievable targets for continualimprovement.

As a minimum standard we shall: Fully comply with or improve on legislative andr e g u l a t o ry requirements Consider environmental impacts as part of ourdecision making and integrate these withbusiness planning Aim for zero breaches of consent andcommunity complaints, setting realistic reductiontargets year on year Strive for continuous improvement inenvironmental performance as detailed in anannual environmental plan Minimise our emissions to air, land and water Minimise our usage of resources by promotingthe three “Rs” – Reduce, Re-use and Recycle Optimise plant efficiency to reduce our fuelconsumption and minimise pollution Ensure that all contractors are aware of,understand and meet our minimumenvironmental standards Identify environmental training requirementsand provide adequate resources to deliver themContinue our strong relationship with the localc o m m u n i t y, keeping them informed of ouro p e r a t i o n s C a r ry out regular management reviews todemonstrate our commitment and to trackprogress on our environmental performance.

Environmental Policy

o secure Longannet’s future

Longannet Power Station is owned andoperated by ScottishPower GenerationHoldings Ltd, which is part of the IBERDROLA Group.

With its landmark 183-metre chimney,Longannet is the second largest coal-firedstation in the UK and one of the largest inEurope. The station, which has an installedcapacity of 2,400 MW generated from four 600MW units, has played an important role inmeeting Scotland’s energy needs since 1972and became fully operational in 1973.

Longannet is principally a coal station but,when necessary, combustion can be supportedby firing natural gas.

The station’s generated output increasedslightly during the year – from 9,139 GWh in2011 to a new total of 9,525 GWh in the currentreporting period (a load factor of about 50%).

However, a number of factors affecting thestation’s availability and performance meant ourinitial budget figure for generated output wasnot attained.

For a second consecutive year, Longannetparticipated in Constrained Managementcontracts operated by the National Grid, whileupgrading work was carried out on thetransmission system between Scotland andEngland. The network improvements reducedsystem capacity on the grid and, at times duringspring and early summer, units at Longannetwere shut down in agreement with the gridoperators.

Scotland’s growing renewable energy capacitycontinues to have an increasing influence onthe way that Longannet is required to operateby National Grid, who have to balance energysupply with demand.

By September 2012, Scotland had 3,811 MWof installed onshore and offshore windgeneration capacity. Wind generationcapacity will continue to grow sharplyin the near future, with a further12,307 MW already underconstruction, consented or inthe planning process foronshore sites in Scotland andaround the coast.

During periods of plentifulwinds, when conditions aresuitable for wind generation,National Grid has, on occasions,negotiated output to be lowered atLongannet and even for units to betaken out of service for a specified period.

The station achieved 159 starts in 2012 as itcame on load and off again, in many cases inresponse to the fluctuating levels of renewableoutput. However, this total was around a thirdless (31%) compared with the record 232 startsin 2011.

Availability was also constrained as a result ofplanned outage work on Units 2 and 4, both ofwhich commenced in June and had to be

Our Operations in 2012 : Longannet performed strongly and madethe most of market opportunities arising from wind generation

extended beyond their target finish dates. The scope of work for the outage on Unit 2

was the largest undertaken on any unit atLongannet for several years and included arange of boiler improvements and thereplacement of the station’s original HP turbinesteam chest and generation transformer.

The shorter Unit 4 outage was scheduled as astatutory inspection along with additional work

streams to carry out maintenance tominimise boiler tube leaks and

improve its overall reliability. During the Unit 4 shutdown, a

routine inspection discoveredcracking in the boiler’stransition welds that joinareas of high-grade steel witha lower-grade material.

The most serious cracksrequired immediate repair,

extending the outage period,and the unit will be taken off again

in 2013 for further work to renew thewelds.

In addition, issues were experienced with thereliability and availability of Unit 2 and Unit 3 inspring 2012 as a result of boiler fouling issues(see page nine).

As a result of these challenges, our availabilityrate reduced from 84.5% in 2011 to 77% in2012 – although the station has benefited froma range of projects that will ensure betterperformance going forward.

The transition weld repairs on Unit 4underlines ScottishPower’s commitment toprocess safety – protecting our people, assetsand the environment from major hazards.

ScottishPower is acknowledged as an industryleader in process safety.

Our electronic Cintellate recording systemcontinued to play a valuable role in 2012, byimproving how staff record, investigate andclose-out environmental and safety incidentsand near-misses.

A major success in 2012 was thecommissioning of Flue Gas Desulphurisation(FGD) on Unit 1 to scrub our emissions ofsulphur dioxide (SO2) by around 94%.

Unit 1 FGD began in regular service in March,allowing station staff to become familiar with itsoperation and how it interacts with theenvironment, and the abatement technology isalready achieving dramatic improvements in SO2

emissions from the unit. Commissioning started on Unit 2 FGD in

December and by the end of 2013 we shouldhave all three of our FGD units in operation andfully commissioned.

We continue to implement a low-sulphur coalstrategy for Unit 4, which is not fitted with FGD.

Longannet consumed 4,138 ktonnes of coalin 2012 – the highest figure since 2002-03 – andalmost half of our supply (47%) was sourcedfrom Scottish mines. We continue to importquantities of low and medium-sulphur coalsfrom Russia and Colombia respectively.

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Longannetceased co-firing

biomass material withcoal in 2012. In the past

we have consumed WasteDerived Fuel (WDF) and

sawdust pellets – but weceased using WDF in April

and no other biomasswas sourced.

Environmental Management: The station’s EMS provides thestructure and systems for ongoing environmental improvement

E N V I RO N M E N TAL RESPONSIBILITIES ASSIGNED

EMERGENCY PROCEDURES

Identification of significant

impacts

Audit and corrective action

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY

Annual objectivesto reduce impact

Continualimprovement

A N N UAL REVIEW

EnvironmentalControl

Procedures

Training, awareness and

communication

Feedback to system

Feedback to system

The Environmental Team is an integrated part of the ProductionDepartment at Longannet Power Station.

Team members meet regularly with management and liaise withemployees and contractors to achieve continual improvement in thestation’s environmental performance through the promotion of a 10-point list of green behaviours.

Green behaviour topics were rolled out monthly to site personnel in2012 and the environment team prepared Toolbox Talks on subjectsincluding reporting faults and incidents, and the serious implicationsof burning waste on site. The Toolbox Talks were supported by postercampaigns and articles in the station’s Newsline internal newsletter.

The Environment Team provides a first response to anyenvironmental incidents and carries out site checks and inspections toensure compliance with our PPC Permits.

The team assists our regulator SEPA, on any issues arising at thestation, including the annual auditing for the Compliance AssessmentScheme (CAS) – see page six.

A new SEPA inspector was appointed for Longannet and was hostedon a series of familiarisation visits to the station.

The team also manages the Aspects & Impacts register andspecialist staff can also be co-opted to attend meetings to address theenvironmental aspects of specific projects, such as FGD.

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Members of Longannet Power Station Environment Team, from left, RichardChristie, Richard Steventon, Moira Campbell, Stewart Dettlaff and Jim Redfern

Longannet’s Environmental Management System (EMS)is certified to the International Standard for EMS, ISO14001: 2004.

The EMS provides the structure and systems fordeveloping, implementing, achieving, reviewing andmaintaining our Environmental Policy. Its maincomponents are shown in the diagram (right).

The station’s Aspects & Impacts register documentsthe impacts or potential impacts of our operations andactivities – past, present and future – under normal,abnormal and emergency conditions and using definedcriteria that are publicly available.

Longannet has identified all of its legal requirementsand maintains a register that is available for stakeholdersto view on request.

The station successfully underwent a full ISO14001:2004 recertification audit at the beginning of 2012,providing certification until 2015.

In line with parent company IBERDROLA introducingcommon systems and processes throughout its thermalstations, Longannet moved to AENOR as certificationprovider for ISO 14001 in early 2012.

Preparations are well in hand for the next step in thisprocess, which is to move to an Integrated ManagementSystem (IMS) covering the ScottishPower liberalisedbusinesses, Generation and Retail.

The first integrated internal audit took place inNovember 2012 when ScottishPower’s UK TechnicalServices department examined housekeeping, recordingof environmental complaints and emergencyprocedures.

The audit found significant improvements had beenmade to housekeeping – part of the Team Longannetprogramme – including the renewal of the fixed vacuumpoint system to reduce airborne dust.

It found that management of environmentalcomplaints was robust and comprehensive and goodwork had been achieved on emergency preparedness.

A small number of non-conformances andimprovement actions were raised and addressed.

An external audit of Longannet’s IntegratedManagement System will take place in March/April 2013

Pollution Prevention & ControlLongannet operates under conditions set out ina Pollution Prevention and Control (PPC) permitthat is issued and monitored by the ScottishEnvironment Protection Agency (SEPA) underthe Pollution Prevention and ControlRegulations 2000.

These regulations remain applicable toexisting sites such as Longannet until January7th 2014 when they will be superseded by thePollution Prevention and Control (Scotland)Regulations 2012, which will come into force foroperators of new plants on January 7th 2013.

The PPC Regulations are driven by the EU’sIntegrated Pollution Prevention and Control(IPPC) Directive and require the use of BestAvailable Techniques (BAT) to eliminate orminimise all polluting emissions.

The PPC permit covers emissions to air, landand water, as well as noise, vibration and heatloss. It also covers the use of energy and rawmaterials, waste reduction and the managementof potential environmental risks.

A PPC permit for the operation of the powerstation was secured in 2007, along with aseparate PPC permit for the operation ofValleyfield Ash Lagoons.

A key element of Longannet’s PPC activities isthe control of emissions. Longannet is opted-into the Large Combustion Plant Directive (LCPD)via the National Emission Reduction Plan (NERP).

Under the NERP, the station has been setfinite annual emission allowances, or ‘bubbles’for SO2, NOX and dust (or particulate matter).

Emission allowances can be traded with otherNERP participating sites, however, the national‘bubble’ is set to ensure an overall reduction inthe UK’s emissions.

In the final quarter of 2012, the stationapplied for a variation to its PPC permit to revisethe formal commissioning dates for FGD onUnits 2 and 3 to March and December 2013respectively. Longannet has explained to SEPAthe cause of the requested timescale extension,which relates to the additional workload andtime considerations involved in the extendedUnit 2 2012 outage and the resulting slippage inplanning for 2013’s outage on Unit 3.

Longannet Ash Lagoons (a separate site toValleyfield Ash Lagoons) continued in 2012 tooperate as a waste transfer station under amodified Waste Management Licence.

The lagoons have been refused a PPC permitdue to concerns that the depth of theimpermeable clay layer beneath the ash in onesection of Lagoon No.1 may be insufficient.

Ash deposition ceased at Lagoon No.1 in 2007and the station is drawing up plans inconsultation with SEPA to withdraw the lagoonfrom future service, as it is thought it will nolonger be needed for future ash storage anddisposal. Station management continued talkswith SEPA in 2012 about the possibility of a PPC

In addition, Longannet has a monitoring stationat Blair Mains to monitor and record local airquality, specifically any effect on local air qualitywith regard to SO2.

Longannet also has an aqueous dischargemonitoring programme to monitor compliancewith the PPC permit emissions limits set for thestation’s nine permitted emission points to theForth Estuary.

Results are reported to SEPA each quarter, orimmediately should any exceedance of a limitbe detected.

All necessary 2012 reports were submitted ontime to SEPA. The Agency carries out regularindependent sampling and analysis ofdischarges to air and water, and its officers meetregularly with station staff to discuss permitconditions, Best Available Techniques and toconduct site inspections as part of theCompliance Assessment Scheme (CAS).

Global Climate ChangeIn 2012, Longannet prepared for the launch ofthe third phase of the EU Emissions TradingSystem (EU ETS).

EU ETS is the primary mechanism for driving areduction of 20% in carbon dioxide (CO2)emissions across power generation and heavyindustry throughout Europe by 2020.

The system imposes a price on carbon toencourage companies to reduce theiroperational emissions and invest in lowercarbon technologies. At Longannet, operatorsstrive to minimise overall CO2 emissions perGWh by ensuring the plant is operated asefficiently as possible.

Under EU ETS, an overall CO2 cap is set andcarbon allowances are distributed through aNational Allocation Plan (NAP). These may be

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permit being issued for the remaining activelagoon at Longannet, Lagoon No.2.

Under PPC permit conditions, and as requiredby the LCPD, Longannet must continuouslymeasure the emissions going up the stationchimney.

Station staff must check the ContinuousEmissions Monitoring System (CEMS)instrumentation regularly to ensure they staywithin their calibrated ranges. The instrumentsmust also undergo annual testing, by anindependent testing company, to verify theiraccuracy and compliance with the Europeanstandard EN14181.

Emissions to air are recorded via the station’sMultiple Emissions Reporting System (MERS) andreported to SEPA, as required by the PPC permit.

SEPA introduced its Compliance Assessment Scheme (CAS) in 2009 as a way of assessing anoperator’s compliance with permits, authorisations and licences, including PPC.

The overall compliance band awarded is based on an operator’s performance measuredby two conditions: Environmental Limit Conditions (ELC) which relate to emissions limits andreporting and Environmental Management Conditions (EMC) that relate to managementprocedures being in place and observed, to ensure environmental protection.

Performance against the EMC band can range from High to Low. The overall sitecompliance rating combines ELC and EMC performance in a matrix that rates the operator’soverall performance in a range of Excellent to Poor.

Longannet Power Station’s CAS rating under the EMC was High Performance and theoverall compliance rating was Good for the fourth consecutive year. The rating wasinfluenced by two reportable noise incidents in July (see the Noise section on page 18); aminor oil release from emission point W10 that, although not breaching the discharge limit,SEPA classified as an Environmental Event; and Units 1 and 2 SO2 emissions being above thetarget of 400mg/m3 as set by PPC Permit variation VN04 (which extended the FGDcommissioning period). For the first time, Valleyfield Lagoons’ CAS compliance rating fellfrom Excellent to Good – this was as a result of a breach of suspended solid dischargeemissions that occurred in December (see page 17). Also in 2012, the operation of LongannetLagoons under its waste management licence was subject to a CAS audit for the first time –resulting in Excellent and High Performance scores in the relevant categories.

Our Compliance Assessment Rating 2012

Key Issues: Longannet operates within strict European legislationthat is designed to minimise our emissions to land, water and air

A specialist contractor carries out maintenanceon Unit 2 feed pump during the major outage

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used in respect of CO2 emissions from theirallocated plant, or traded.

When Phase 3 EU ETS starts on January 1st2013, free allocation of CO2 allowances willeffectively cease for single-purpose electricitygenerating stations such as Longannet.

This will mean that, going forward,ScottishPower must purchase all the carbonallowances required to match Longannet’s CO2

emissions.Phase 3 will also introduce more rigorous

monitoring and reporting methodologies thatrequire additional supporting procedures andgreater CO2 sampling frequencies. Someadditional small emission sources will also beincluded under Phase 3, such as CO2 emissionsfrom the propane gas used during maintenancewelding work.

Longannet’s robust management systemalready meets many of the new elements ofPhase 3 but, during the year, we detailed ourapproach to the tougher regime in ourapplication to SEPA for a new Phase 3Greenhouse Gas permit.

EU ETS requires each eligible installation toproduce an annual Greenhouse Gas emissionsreport for the previous calendar year, whichmust be externally verified and submitted to theregulator by the end of March. Allowances equalto these verified emissions must then besurrendered by the end of April.

Meanwhile, the UK Government is set tointroduce a carbon floor price on fossil fuelgenerators from 1st April 2013 as part of the

the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED), whichcomes into force from January 1st 2016 and willrequire coal-fired power stations to installfurther abatement technologies.

The IED will consolidate seven existingdirectives, including the LCPD, the IPPC Directiveand the Waste Incineration Directive (WID) intoone cohesive piece of legislation.

The directive focuses on limiting air pollutantssuch as SO2, NOX and dust and will significantlytighten emission limit values for largecombustion plants and other industriesthroughout the EU. It also strengthens theconcept of Best Available Technology (BAT) incontrolling emissions and introduces newrequirements for monitoring, plant inspectionsand compliance reporting.

Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD), which isoperational on two units and undergoing finalconstruction on a third unit at Longannet, willensure the station can comply with SO2 emissionlimits set by the forthcoming IED. However, thestation must invest in additional abatementtechnology to reduce its emissions of NOX tocomply with the future limits.

As a general rule, installations such asLongannet have until 2016 to comply with thestricter emission limits or opt-out of the IED.

Operators must decide by December 2013 ifthey wish to opt out of IED and commit tolimited hours of operation, within the emissionlimits set by the LCPD, and closure by the end of2023. Under a third option, a plant could opt-inby entering into a Transitional National Plan

amended Climate Change Levy regime.The carbon floor price will comprise the

current cost of EU ETS allowances plus a tax –known as the carbon price support mechanism(CPSM) – based on the average carbon contentof fossil fuels delivered to the station.

UK generators were waiting at the end of2012 for final confirmation of how the carbonsupport price will be calculated but it isanticipated that Longannet will be able to usethe same data collection methods as arecurrently used for EU ETS

The CPSM will effectively be a top-up tax toensure the cost of emitting CO2 does not dropbelow a certain, floor, level.

The carbon floor price has been designed bythe UK Government to drive investment in low-carbon technologies. However, it willsignificantly increase costs incurred by coal-fired stations, such as Longannet.

Acidification & Air QualityPower stations must control emissions to air ofSO2, NOX and particulate (dust) under the termsof the LCPD and the IPPC Directive.

SO2 and NOX emissions affect air quality andcan disrupt ecosystems through acid raindamage to vegetation and watercourses.

Along with ozone and fugitive dust emissions, they have also been linked withrespiratory conditions and may be harmful tohuman health.

Emission limits will be further constrained by

Station staff and contractors supervise as a massive turbine rotor is lifted into position on Unit 2 during the major outage that started in 2012 – see page 14

At the outset, the strategy recognises that thecoal types now consumed by the station have ahigher calorific value than those used when theplant was first built. As a result, less fuel needsto be burned to achieve Longannet’s originaldesign full load.

The coals now being supplied are, however,more resistant to grinding in the coal mills –themeasure of coal hardness is the HardgroveIndex, the lower the Hardgrove Index value theharder the coal is to grind – with the result thatthe pulverised fuel supplied to the furnace iscurrently more coarse compared with theoriginal station requirements.

The strategy will move the plant towardsdelivering a more finely ground fuel with eachindividual coal mill grinding a lower tonnage ofcoal, with an increase from six to sevenoperational mills and modifications to ensuremill fuel/air flow velocities are maintained.

A similar strategy implemented at CockenziePower Station in East Lothian resulted inimproved combustion of the finer coal particles,better efficiency, a reduction in NOX and carbonmonoxide (CO) emissions and less temperaturestress on the boiler and its components,

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(TNP) from 2016 to June 2020. Longannet hasindicated to DEFRA it intends joining the TNPand will continue to explore suitable NOX

reduction technologies. The TNP is designed to allow operators time

to comply with the stricter IED limits althoughthey would have to operate within emissionslimits set by the TNP. It is anticipated the TNPwould operate in a similar way to the currentNERP, with tradable emission limit bubblesbeing set for SO2, NOX and dust.

NOX reduction technologiesA key area of focus for Longannet in recent yearshas been exploring ways to reduce its NOX

emissions to less than 200mg/Nm3 to meet thestricter limits of the forthcoming IED.

In 2013, the station will move towards astrategic solution that combines improvedmonitoring of combustion conditions in thestation’s furnaces with changes to the way thatpulverised fuel is supplied and burned in theboiler.

The technologies have been proved at coalplants in Spain operated by our parent companyIBERDROLA and their competitors.

All four boilers at Longannet will be fitted withautomatic gas sampling equipment in 2013.Eight sample probes will be installed in the boilerwall above the eight columns of coal burners oneach unit.

These will analyse combustion gases atregular intervals, providing operators with a real-time feedback on combustion conditions. Thiswill enable controls to be fine tuned to ensurecombustion is balanced across the furnace,reducing the conditions for NOX formation andensuring the most efficient use of fuel.

Meanwhile, as part of the second stream ofwork in 2013, modifications will be made to thepipework that carries pulverised fuel from thecoal mills to the Unit 3 boiler to improve theoverall flexibility of supplying fuel to thefurnace.

The top row of the boiler’s four rows ofburners will no longer be used to burnpulverised fuel with the result that the coalfireball will occur lower in the furnace.

This will provide coal particles with greaterresidence time to burn, helping minimisethermal NOX formation. It will also reduce thetemperature in the higher part of thefurnace and thus prevent any overheatingof the superheater pendants.

Meanwhile, the output from the coalmills serving the redundant burners (A andH) will be redirected throughnew pulverised fuelpipework to feedthe lower threeburner rows toprovide additionalmill capacity andbetter flexibility.

This will giveunit operators theability to createoxygen-lean areaslow down in the furnacethat promotes theformation of elementaldiatomic nitrogen (N2)rather than NOX. The project

will also improve combustion efficiency, due tomore thorough burning of fuel, reduce theamount of unburned coal in ash and promotethe longevity of the boiler and its componentsdue to the relatively cooler furnace conditions.

The technology, which is expected to reduceNOX emissions to between 300 and 350mg/Nm3,will be fitted during the Unit 3 outage in 2013. Itwill then undergo a period of evaluation in thelatter part of the year.

The results will help inform ScottishPower’sdecision whether or not to enter Longannet intothe TNP, following which the technology couldbe rolled out to the station’s other three units.

Further NOX abatement will be required,however, to meet the new IED limit and thestation is investigating fitting a trial SelectiveNon Catalytic Reduction (SNCR) injection planton Unit 3 in 2013.

This would inject ammonia into the top of thefurnace where it would react chemically withnitrous oxide, producing elemental nitrogen andwater.

Boosted Over Fire Air (BOFA)Longannet’s four units continue to benefit fromBOFA technology that is designed to reduce NOX

emissions by up to 25%. BOFA helps ensure the station remains within

the NOX emission limit of 1.8 Te/GWh as set bythe PPC permit (equivalent to the monthlyaverage limit of 500mg/Nm3 set by the LCPDuntil the end of 2015).

However, there have been historical issuesrelating to the reliability of the BOFA system andin 2012 a station-led project team liaised withthe turnkey supplier to seek ways of optimisingits availability and performance.

Repairs were made sequentially to cracking onBOFA’s fan impellor cones following vibrationissues that were noted in 2011 and project staffhave attempted to fine tune hardware andsoftware interlocks and calibrate the vanes thatcontrol the BOFA Fan throughput.

It is expected that work carried out as part of acoal mill optimisation strategy, to increasesecondary air flow, will finally create the rightconditions for BOFA to operate as designed and,going forward, to compliment the new NOX

reduction technologies being installed atLongannet in 2013.

Mill OptimisationStrategyA formal strategy to improvethe performance ofLongannet’s coal mills waslaunched in September 2012.

The long-term project iscritical to the success of the

new low NOX system beingtrialled at the station and

part of a combustionworkstream

aimed atensuring thelongevity ofLongannetbeyond2020.

Station Chemist Tony Corless with a sample of the boiler clinker

improving asset longevity. Implementing themill optimisation strategy will involve a projectteam that comprises personnel fromengineering, maintenance, operations andchemistry. By the end of 2013, it is anticipatedthat pulverised fuel throughput and finenesswill have been optimised on 80% of the station’smills, with the project 100% complete by April2014.

NOX performance in 2012Significant effort by stationteams in 2012 has identified asolution to reduce NOX

emissions from LongannetUnit 4. The unit hashistorically experiencedhigher NOX emission levelscompared with its sister unitsand this resulted in a minor breachof the plant’s PPC permit limits in2011.

A project team was set up to investigate theissue and Improve control of Unit 4’scombustion performance to reduce NOX

formation.Unit 4 is not being fitted with FGD and

requires a low-sulphur coal diet to stay within its

The FGD absorber on Unit 1 began in regularservice in March and was fully commissioned inDecember 2012. Unit 2 FGD operatedintermittently in the first six months and startedits formal commissioning phase when the unitcame back in December after its major outage.

The technique used by Longannet is SeawaterScrubbing FGD that uses the inherent alkalineproperties of seawater to absorb and neutraliseacidic SO2. It works by bringing the seawaterwhich has already been used as Longannet’scondenser cooling water, into close contact withthe flue gases in purpose-built absorber towersto absorb the SO2, resulting in harmless solublesulphate ( SO4) that can be discharged back tothe Forth Estuary.

The process does not require chemicals – onlyseawater and air are used – and safeguards arein place to ensure the discharged seawatercomplies fully with environmental regulations.

Operators have seen significant reductions inSO2 emissions – the end-of-year figures indicatethat Unit 1 produced 5,000 tonnes of SO2 during2012 while Unit 3 produced 19,000 tonnesoperating at a similar output.

Across all four units, the station’s SO2

emissions reduced by 13% from 3.9 tonnes perGWh in 2011 to 3.4 tonnes per GWh in 2012.

Nevertheless, there was a minor breach of SO2

SO2 emission limit – but it was identified that thecombustion of such fuels appeared toencourage higher NOX concentrations.

Trials were carried out in spring 2012involving subtle changes to the fuel mix for Unit4 and, towards the end of the year, the unitbegan being supplied with a blend of 80% low-sulphur Russian coal and 20% Scottish coal to

control NOX while enabling the unit toremain within its SO2 emissions limit.

All units at Longannet met theirannual mass NOX emission limits

in 2012 and the overall stationemissions in tonnes/GWhreduced slightly from 1.68 in2011 to 1.66 in 2012.

Flue GasDesulphurisation

FGD is designed to ensureLongannet can comply with emission

limits for SO2 set by both the LCPD and theforthcoming IED.

For the first time in 2012, the station was ableto operate consistently with two absorberpumps in operation, supplying seawater toscrub around 94% of the SO2 emissions on Units1 and 2 and with high levels of availability.

By the end of2013, as a result of the

Coal Mill Optimisation workstream, it is anticipated

pulverised fuel throughput and fineness will have been

optimised on 80% of thestation’s mills, with theproject 100% complete

by April 2014.

page 09

Station teams pulled togetherto restore unit availability afterboiler fouling on Units 2 and 3in spring 2012 resulted inchallenging operatingconditions.

An investigation byLongannet’s production teamidentified the cause and asolution, while staff andcontractors engaged in a majorclean-up operation to removehundreds of tonnes ofaccumulated clinker.

The root problem wasidentified as a failure ofsootblowers, which removesoot and dust from the furnacesurfaces, combined with theblends of coals that the unitswere supplied with.

As a result, excessively highflue gas temperatures werepresent in the boiler andmolten ash from coalcondensed and accumulated,forming clinker, on boiler tubesand platen superheaterpendants.

The units were taken off loadand cleaned, with workersusing jackhammers to remove

the densest areas of clinker,and the maintenance andengineering teams broughtback into service the boilerslope long lance sootblowers.

Meanwhile, the station begana regime of dropping load to300MW overnight across allfour units on alternate nights.

Thermally cycling the boilersin this way causes any clinkerto cool and naturally drop offthe boiler components.

Monitoring of boilertemperatures using a thermalimaging camera was animportant part of the projectand checks are carried out dailyto identify any further fouling –which is removed regularlywhen the unit is taken off load.

Clinker build up can alsoaffect combustion conditionsand can occlude the gas paththrough the boiler, with animpact on emissions such asNOX, CO and dust.

The excessive temperaturesexperienced can also put strainon the boiler and itscomponents, affecting assetlife.

Teams tackle boiler fouling

Station Chemist Tony Corless carries out checks with a thermalimaging camera and, inset, build up of clinker around boiler tubes

emission limits on Units 1 and 2 which wereabove the target of 400mg/m3 as set by PPCPermit variation VN04 (which extended the FGDcommissioning period) in September and Mayrespectively.

Construction work to rebuild Unit 3’s FGDabsorber that was damaged by fire in 2010 wasapproaching completion by the end of 2012 andmoving towards full commissioning byDecember 2013. Work will be carried out to ‘tiein’ the absorber to Unit 3 during next year’smajor outage.

Meanwhile, the FGD system benefited in 2012from the return to service of two refurbishedseawater absorber pumps that work to push20,000 tonnes of seawater per hour througheach absorber.

Vibration issues as a result of degradedbearings were experienced on all four pumps in2011. All should be back in operation after anoverhaul by their manufacturer in Germany byspring 2013, in time for the start of FGDoperations on all three installed units atLongannet.

Meanwhile, four self-cleaning in-line strainershave been installed on the discharge side of theabsorber pumps between December 2011 andOctober 2012. The strainers are required toprevent marine debris from reaching the FGDabsorbers and potentially blocking the nozzleswhich create the spray inside the absorbers toensure maximum contact between thecombustion gasses and the seawater.

Each strainer can remove 70 tonnes of marinedebris per hour from the extracted water andthey are improving the effective flow of watersupply for FGD by removing the need for finefilters on the inlets to the absorber pumps.

It was identified that having filters on theinlets to the absorber pumps was contributingto the pump vibration issues in 2011.

Coal ManagementLongannet consumed 4,138 ktonnes of coal in2012 – approaching 10% more than in 2011(3,781 ktonnes) and the highest figure since4,160 ktonnes were burned in 2002-03. We

continued to ramp up the use of indigenous coalto levels that have not been recorded since theformer Longannet Mine closed in 2002.

Our fuel procurement team also continue tooperate on the world market to secure stocks ofmedium-sulphur coals from Colombia and low-sulphur fuels from Russia to support thestation’s coal strategy.

Our coal plant operator has a key role inmanaging stocks and sending the correct “diet”of fuel to each of the station’s units to ensurecompliance with sulphur emission limits and theeffective operation of the units’ boilers.

From late 2012, this has included sending ablend of Russian coal with 20% higher-sulphurScottish coal to Unit 4, which is not fitted withFGD sulphur abatement, to help minimise itsNOX emissions whilst still fully complying withthe Low Sulphur Strategy agreed with SEPA asBest Available Technique (BAT) for sulphurcontrol at Longannet.

During the year, 77% of the station’s total coalsupplies were delivered by rail from HunterstonTerminal in Ayrshire, where foreign stocks areoffloaded, and the Ravenstruther coal railterminal in South Lanarkshire that serves as ahub for opencast mines in Ayrshire.

Lorries supplied the rest of our coal frommines in Lanarkshire and Fife.

This coal is delivered to 4,000-tonne capacityExchange Hopper, at the northwest end of thesite, where it is crushed and sampled beforejoining with the rest of the coal for delivery tothe units by conveyor belt.

The coal delivery and handling operationsfeeding the Exchange Hopper are controlled bythe Scottish Coal Company Limited (SCCL),under a separate Part B PPC Permit issued bySEPA.

During 2012, the station trialled coal varietiesfrom the South Appalachians in the UnitedStates and from new suppliers in Colombia.

It is a requirement of our PPC permit that anypotential new fuels are thoroughly tested toconfirm they will have no impact on the station’sbaseline emissions.

The new Colombian and American stockswere trialled successfully and have beenincluded in the station’s fuel portfolio.

Supply ChainManagementThe majority of Longannet’spurchasing is undertaken by,or with assistance from,ScottishPower’s centralProcurement Department.

The Procurement Team iscommitted to maintainingcompliance against UK andEuropean legislation and codes,and demonstrating this as part ofthe authorisation process for eachcontract.

Our standard approach to supplier pre-qualification and tender evaluation includesassessing the environmental, social and ethicalcredentials of potential suppliers, as well asensuring financial value.

We use the Achilles Utilities Vendor DatabaseVerify scheme – a second stage supplierverification and assessment scheme for high-risk contracts.

Coal ProcurementScottishPower’s coal procurement activities arenow fully integrated within IBERDROLA’s globalenergy management section.

Our parent company sources around sevenmillion tonnes of coal each year that is suitablefor Longannet and its three coal stations inSpain, providing economies of scale andvaluable synergies.

Shiploads of coal can be redirected toScotland or Spain, as necessary, while in transit

to ensure security of supply.Longannet obtained 47% of itscoal from Scottish suppliers in

2011 – up from 38% in 2011.Just 20% of coal was sourcedlocally in 2009. ScottishPowerhas a number of long-standingcoal-supply agreements inplace with suppliers who

operate opencast mines in Fife,Lothians, Lanarkshire and

Ayrshire. Using local coals reduces the

station’s dependency on imports andsignificantly reduces the carbon footprint of“coal miles”.

ScottishPower is a member of the Associationof UK Coal Importers and our representativeshave helped produce guidelines on standards ofcorporate social responsibility for those involvedin the coal importation supply chain.

Assessing new, potential suppliers notcovered by the Achilles database may involve

page 10

The Unit 3 FGD absorber rebuild continued during2012 towards a commissioning date in late 2013

Almost half (47%)of the coal we used in

2012 – almost two milliontonnes – was sourced fromScottish opencast mines in Central Scotland, helping reduce our coal miles andsupporting local jobs and

communities.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

page 11

visits to overseas operations. We also deal withreputable traders who source coal from multiplemines and incorporate anti-corruption and anti-bribery clauses into our contracts.

Waste Derived FuelSEPA formally withdrew an enforcement notice against Longannet in 2012 after thestation ceased co-firing Waste Derived Fuel(WDF) with coal.

Pelletised WDF from the Daldowie SludgeDrying Facility, near Glasgow, has been co-firedat the station since 2002. However, finaldeliveries took place at the start of 2012 and co-firing ceased by the end of April.

SEPA issued its enforcement notice asLongannet is not compliant with the EC’s WasteIncineration Directive (WID). This followed acourt ruling in 2005 that defined WDF as a wasterather than a fuel.

ScottishPower explored alternative uses forWDF, including constructing a dedicatedbiomass-to-energy power station at Longannet.

However, the pellets are now being suppliedas a fuel in WID-compliant cement kilnsoperated by Lafarge, providing continuedbeneficial reuse of the pellets to produceenergy.

ScottishPower received confirmation fromSEPA on October 18th 2012 that theEnforcement Notice was withdrawn as of theOctober 9th 2012.

A total of 10,465 tonnes of WDF was co-firedat Longannet in the first four months of thereporting period. The station has not co-firedany other biomass products in 2012.

Use of EnergyStation teams replaced Unit 2’s originalgeneration transformer during 2012 with amore efficient model that will improve overallefficiency.

The massive 280-tonne transformer, whichconverts the station’s power output before it isexported via the National Grid, was approaching40-years old and had reached the end of itsoperational life.

A bespoke transformer was manufactured forLongannet by Dutch company Smit and installedalong with new water and oil cooling pipeworkduring the outage on Unit 2. Weighing in at 320tonnes before it is filled with oil, the equipmentwas manoeuvred into position on a 14-axlesingle-point mooring trailer.

The new transformer is 150kW or 7.5% moreefficient than its predecessor (based on testcertificates for the original transformer from1972), resulting in energy consumption savingsand improvements in overall sent-out power.

The generator transformer on Unit 3 will bereplaced with a refurbished transformer of theoriginal design during the 2013 outageprogramme while station management arelooking at options for similar work for Unit 4.

Although not as efficient as the new designinstalled on Unit 2, the refurbished transformerwill still deliver improved performancecompared with the current transformer.

The station’s operational electricity useincreased to 599 GWh in 2012 – a slight rise

Longannet’s chemists have gained greaterknowledge during 2012 of the dynamics ofFGD and how the system interacts with theForth Estuary.

Seawater Scrubbing FGD uses theinherent alkaline properties of seawater toabsorb and neutralise acidic SO2 from thestation’s flue gases.

The operation of Unit 1 FGD absorberfrom March 2012 has enabled stationchemists to monitor how the safeguardsbuilt into the control system operate toensure there is no adverse impact on theForth or the FGD plant.

At low tides or during periods of highrainfall or snow melt, the alkalinity levels inseawater can fall below the level requiredto operate FGD without potentiallyimpacting on water quality in the estuary.

Greater use of coals that have a highersulphur content can also upset theimportant chemical balance, althoughalkalinity levels in the Forth are naturallyreplenished with each high tide.

Remote online sensors constantlymonitor the variation of alkalinity of waterbeing extracted from the Forth and the

levels of acidity and dissolved oxygenconcentrations in the water being returnedto the estuary via the cooling waterdischarge flume.

A bypass system opens automatically aspermitted levels are approached anddiverts a proportion of the flue gasescontaining SO2 to the chimney.

If the control systems detect thatpermitted levels are about to be exceeded,the automatic protection system initiates,resulting in the FGD process being fullybypassed – as happened for the first timein December 2012 during a period of highrainfall and low tides.

Going forward, the monitoring will becritical when three FGD absorbers are inservice towards the end of 2013.

Station chemist Tony Corless said: “We’velearned a lot and are continuing to learn.We are testing the assumptions madeduring the modelling for FGD and gainingunderstanding of the process.

“Our online instruments are accurate andreliable and we are building up confidencethe safeguards will protect the plant andestuary during adverse conditions.”

Understanding FGD water chemistry

Cooling water returned to the discharge flume is monitored to ensure it meets permitted standards

T R A N S P O RT AND HEATING FUEL

2010 2009 2008

Unleaded Petrol (l)

Transport Diesel* (l)

Plant Diesel* (l)

87

18,382

716,640

166

19,024

694,531

178

21,253

1,004,527

113

17,484

1,085,385

279

16,108

1,041,181

20112012

FUEL USE2012 2010 2009 200820112012

The way we present diesel use figures was changed in 2007, to separate transport dieselfrom fuel consumed by the plant, including its generators and plant vehicles

Our processes: Our inputs and outputs andour interaction with other businesses on site

1.0

0.95

0.90

0.85

0.80

2 0 0 8 2 0 0 9 2 0 1 0 2 0 1 1 2 0 1 2

CO2 (kTe/GWh)

0.140

0.120

0.100

0.080

0.060

0.040

0.020

0

2 0 0 8 2 0 0 9 2 0 1 0 2 0 1 1 2 0 1 2

HCl (T e / G W h )

0.1

0.09

0.08

0.07

0.06

0.05

0.04

2 0 0 8 2 0 0 9 2 0 1 0 2 0 1 1 2 0 1 2

Particulates (Te/GWh)

page 12

30,000

25,000

20,000

15,000

10,000

5,000

0

2 0 0 8 2 0 0 9 2 0 1 0 2 0 1 1 2 0 1 2

Gas use (m3/GWh)

Longannet burns Scottish coal that is deliveredby rail and road, and foreign low-sulphur coal,that is imported by ship then delivered toLongannet by rail. The coal is ground to a finepowder in the milling plant before being burnedin the boiler – 4,138 ktonnes of coal were burnedin 2012. In 2012, Longannet stopped co-firing WDF withcoal from the end of April. A total of 10 ktonnesof WDF were burned in the first three months.The station has not co-fired other biomassproducts,such as wood pellets, as a fuel since2010. Gas for start-up and combustion supportarrives at the station via a pipeline that links intoTransco’s gas transmission system. It passesthrough a pressure-reducing facility, managedby Greystar, before being injected into the boiler. Water for steam generation comes from thetownswater supply and is purified using astrictly-controlled amount of chemicals. Steam

3 . 0

2 . 5

2 . 0

1 . 5

1 . 0

0 . 5

0

2 0 0 8 2 0 0 9 2 0 1 0 2 0 1 1 2 0 1 2

NOX (Te/GWh)

5 . 0

4 . 5

4 . 0

3 . 5

3 . 0

2 . 5

2 . 0

2 0 0 8 2 0 0 9 2 0 1 0 2 0 1 1 2 0 1 2

SO2 (Te/GWh)

0.070

0.065

0.060

0.055

0.050

0.045

0.040

2 0 0 8 2 0 0 9 2 0 1 0 2 0 1 1 2 0 1 2

Station Energy Use (GWh/GWh)

500

450

400

350

300

2 0 0 8 2 0 0 9 2 0 1 0 2 0 1 1 2 0 1 2

Coal use (Te/GWh)

leaving the turbines is converted back to water inthe condensers then re-circulated back to theboilers. Water from the Forth Estuary is used for ashtransportation and cooling purposes. It is thenreturned to the river. Strictly controlled amountsof chemicals are added to inhibit rust andprevent the growth of mussels and other marineorganisms.

Discharges to the estuary are monitoredregularly and controlled by discharge consents,conditions of which are set by SEPA.

Electrostatic precipitators (ESP) capture dustfrom the boiler flue gases and prevent itreaching the atmosphere via the chimney. Othercontrol techniques, such as dampening, are alsoused around the site, especially at the ashlagoons and coal plant, to control fugitive dustemissions. In 2012, Longannet supplied 9,525 GWh of electricity for ScottishPower.

Gas Use

Coal Use

WDF

Biomass Use

41.6 Mm3

4,138 kTe

10.4 kTe

0

4,116

155

409

9,683

1.035

15

0

0

11,315

406

390

9,247

3.834

59

0

0

14,769

531

384

9,121

4.372

68

1

17

19,041

668

364

8,691

5.209

80

2

39

21,508

775

369

8,864

7.184

107

2

36

m3/GWh

GJ/GWh

Te/GWh

GJ/GWh

Te/GWh

GJ/GWh

Te/GWh

GJ/GWh

ELECTRICITY AND TOWNSWATER USE2012 2010 2009 2008

Electricity UseTownswater Use

Boreholewater Use

599 GWh2.45 Mm3

0.43 Mm3

0.063

258

45.2

0.062

245

37.3

0.057

252

45.1

0.056

252

65.8

0.05

262

76.6

20112012GWh/GWhm3/GWh

m3/GWh

STACK EMISSIONS

2012 2010 2009SO2

NOx

CO2

Hydrogen Chloride

Particulates

34.8 kTe

16.6 kTe

9,116 kTe

989 Te

594 Te

3.4

1.65

0.9571

0.104

0.06

4.1

1.8

0.9357

0.092

0.081

4.6

1.5

0.9227

0.073

0.074

3.9

1.8

0.8952

0.054

0.069

3.7

2.2

0.9252

0.045

0.061

Te/GWh

Te/GWh

kTe/GWh

Te/GWh

Te/GWh

20112012

EMISSIONS 2012 (TONNES OF EQUIVALENT CO2)

TONNES Tonnes ofequivalent CO2

N2O

Methane

HFCs

PFCs

108.64

65.31

0

0

298

25

0

0

32,274.7

1,632.8

0

0

Global WarmingPotential

possible environmental noise

Figures for Particulates (dust) includes start-up and shut-down operations As per JEP Pollution Inventory 2011 Electricity Supply IndustryMethodology. Factors as per DEFRA/DECC’s 2011 Guidelines

page 13

ASH PRODUCED2009 2008

Inert PFA (Te)

Inert FBA (Te)

488,516

36,770

422,977

31,838

413,295

31,109

324,107

24,395

269,818

18,235

2011 20102012 RECYCLED WASTE AS % OF TOTAL (EXC ASH)2009 2008

Percentage 53 49 37 58 –

2011 20102012

ScotAsh, transported by road

WASTE PRODUCED/RECYCLED

Disposed solids (te)

Disposed liquids (l)

Recycled solids (te)

Recovered liquids (l)

1,544

223,2131

1,686

295,900

2012

In 2012, 488 ktonnes of Pulverised Fuel Ash (PFA) and 37 ktonnesof Furnace Bottom Ash (FBA) were produced. Some of this ash wassold by ScotAsh for re-use in construction products and the rest wassent by pipeline to our ash storage lagoons. The station holds appropriate waste management licences andexemptions. Since 2008, we have reported on recycled materials as apercentage of our overall waste produced. We recycled 53% of ourtotal waste, excluding ash, in 2012. Longannet has been reporting our volumes of hazardous and non-hazardous wastes, as required by EMAS, since 2010.

CONDENSERS

TURBINES

FGD

G E N E R ATO R S

E L E C T RO STAT I CP R E C I P I TATO R S

SETTLEMENTPONDS

ASH LAGOONS

COAL MILLS

WATERTREATMENT

PLANT

cooling water (Forth Estuary)

treated discharges (Forth Estuary)

electricity sent out9,525 GWh (Energy Networks),transmission grid

discharge to water (Forth Estuary)

emissions to airSO2 – 34.8 ktonnesNOx – 16.6 ktonnesCO2 – 9,116 ktonnes*HCl – 989 tonnesdust – 594 tonnes (582tonnes exluding start-up andshut-down)

townswater 2,455,396 m3

water treatment chemicals (by road)

gas (via pipeline, Greystar) 41.6 Mm3

coal 4,138 ktonnes (imported by ship and

delivered by train or lorry)

cooling water –1.38 x 109 m3

WDF 10.4 ktonnes

electricity use 599 GWh,including 166 GWh from

the National Grid and 433GWh of works power

pulverised fuel ash (PFA)– 488,516 tonnes produced

furnace bottom ash (FBA)– 36,770 tonnes produced

transportunleaded petrol – 87 litres

diesel – 18,382 litresplant

plant diesel (including plant vehicles, mobile plant and generators) – 716,640 litres (none of which was used for electricity generation)

waste handleddisposed solid – 1,544 tonnesdisposed liquid – 223,213 litresrecycled solid – 1,686 tonnesrecycled liquid – 295,900 litres

potential fugitive dust emissions

PFA

PROCESSWATER

FBA

* The CO2 figure includes all fuelstreams, as reported to SEPA

site drainage (Forth Estuary)

Land area (for Longannet PowerStation, Longannet Lagoons andValleyfield Lagoons) = 289 ha

Area in m2/GWh = 303

Area of Site/GWh Electricity Sent Out

INPUTS ANDOUTPUTS 2012

2008

HAZARDOUS WASTE

Hazardous liquids (l)

Non-hazardous liquids (l)

Hazardous solids (Te)

Non-hazardous solids (Te)

299,590

219,523

196

3,034

2012

due to planned and breakdown outages torepair the pumps’ gearboxes.

This resulted in a reduced volume of CWflowing through the condensers, contributing toa drop in back pressure, or vacuum at thedischarge of the low pressure steam turbines.

Each gearbox has now been overhauled and,by the end of 2012, the station had threepumps in service while No.2 pump wasundergoing commissioning.

Going forward, the station will benefit fromfour CW pump availability. The renovatedpumps improve condenser performance,increasing turbine efficiency and decreasing thelikelihood of the station potentially droppingload if a pump failure occurs.

No.2 pump will also benefit from arefurbished intake drum screen that filters outmarine debris from the CW before it reaches thepump. Unit 2 drum screen was the last to berefurbished across the four units.

Work is ongoing to optimise combustionperformances across Longannet’s units andachieve continual improvement.

Considerable work has been done in recentyears to minimise air ingress, or tramp air, to thecombustion system which is normally run underan overall slight suction of 0.6mbar, ensuringthat combustion gases are controlled and donot leak out into the boiler house.

A database has been set up to enable staff toreport faults – such as cracked ductwork orholed boiler casing – that may cause air to besucked into the system.

A pre-outage inspection of Unit 2’s boiler in2012 identified a number of areas of air ingress.These were repaired during the stationshutdown and around 50m2 of plating on theboiler casing was replaced.

The boiler has shown a 20% reductionin tramp air ingress since its return to

service – not only reducingcontrollable losses but

improving combustionperformance and givingstation operators bettercontrol of NOX.

Savings in energy use arealso being realised as the ID

fans need to run at a lowerintensity to move the combustion

gases through the precipitators andout towards the chimney.

The work scope of the Unit 2 2012 outagewas the largest at Longannet for several years.Other projects carried out that will improvecombustion performance and controllablelosses include the replacement of three of thefurnace’s 32 Low NOX burners.

The main boiler work, however, involved thereplacement of 16 complete superheaterpendent elements, each of which weighed three tonnes, and the installation of a newsecondary superheater inlet header in the boilertop dead space.

These replacements will improve thereliability of the Unit 2 boiler by reducing thelikelihood of boiler tube leaks.

The critical work path for the outage was thereplacement of the life-expired HP turbine rotorand left-hand steam chest – both projects willimprove the reliability and availability of theunit, along with measures carried out during the

from 568 GWh the previous year. The 2012figure consists of 166 GWh of electricityimported from the National Grid and 433 GWhof works power.

Energy consumption has increased becauseof the requirement to supply fans associatedwith BOFA and the larger ID fans and 13 aerationblowers for FGD. As a result, the sent-outcapacity of the units will drop from 576 to 562MW on Units 1, 2 and 3 when FGD is fullycommissioned and to 574 MW on Unit 4 (whichis only fitted with BOFA).

A number of other projects andimprovements were carried out in 2012: A long-standing drainage issue at the ashplant roadway has been rectified and a pumpthat operated to remove the flood water hasbeen removed, resulting in energy savings. New energy-efficient lighting has beeninstalled in the main station workshop as part ofa major reorganisation of the workshop spaceduring 2012.

Better storage has been provided forequipment used by the Maintenance andEngineering Team and additional office spacehas been created for supervisors.

Further work will be carried out in 2013 toreorganise other satellite maintenance storesand workshops.

Continual ImprovementOur staff and contractors strive to achieve acontinual improvement in the station’sefficiency, controllable losses, performance,reliability and compliance.

Controllable losses are the measure of oursuccess in improving combustionefficiency and reducing our rawmaterial consumption. The termdescribes the amount ofdeviation from ideal designvalues for a number of important process measurements, such as temperature, pressure and flow.

In 2012, we achieved ourtarget to reduce controllablelosses below 5.5%. Our end-of-yearfigure of 5.37% was the lowest for atleast three years and reflected hard work bystation teams and contractors to improve keycontributors to controllable losses, such ascondenser back pressure and boiler tramp airingress.

Many improvements that reduce controllablelosses are also being driven by Longannet’s newmaintenance strategy that was launched in2012. As part of the review, the number of full-time supervisors has been increased to 16(from six previously).

Each month a list of the top 10 maintenancetasks to rectify performance defects is preparedby staff in the Performance department.

These are tackled on a priority basis bymaintenance teams when an appropriateopportunity arises.

In recent years, the main cause of increasingcontrollable losses was the restricted availabilityof the station’s four cooling water (CW) pumps

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

A project to improve Longannet’s controland safety protection systems whenusing natural gas for combustion supporthas continued in 2012 to achievesubstantial savings in gas use.

In 2011, the station carried outmaintenance to upgrade the main gascontrol valve and improve the reliabilityof the gas and coal flame eyes thatmonitor conditions in the boiler andrecognise when there is a flame.

This has allowed the plant to operate in2012 without combustion support gasburners when loads are above 300MWand there is no requirement to changeload.

In the first full year of operation in 2012using the new controls, our gas usagefigure has dropped by 73% to 41.6Mm3,from 154Mm3 in 2010 before the newoperating procedures, and is less than afifth of our 2008 gas usage figure(21.5Mm3).

A maintenance plan has been writtenfor the ongoing upkeep of the controlsand further optimisation was carried outduring the year to fine tune the way weuse our gas burners for combustionsupport.

Improving controlof Natural Gas

page 14

The refurbished flame eyes in operation

Gas burners in operation on Unit 4 at start up

Opportunities toreduce the rate of the

Longannet’s controllablelosses are identified by the

members of the PerformanceTeam and discussed each day directly with the Unit

Controllers at the station’s production

meeting.

brittle over time, causing a small oil leak. Longannet significantly reduced thequantities of hydrazine required to be stored onsite during 2012.

Hydrazine is a toxic and unstable chemicalhowever it is an effective oxygen scavenger and

is injected into in the condensate water tocontrol concentrations of dissolved oxygen.

The hydrazine reacts with oxygen to produceammonia, which is alkaline and helps to inhibitrust corrosion in the station’s boiler watersystem. In 2012, a new ammonia injection plantcame into service that has reduced the

hydrazine concentrations required to ensureprotection of the plant.

As a result, hydrazine usage fell by 31% in2012, from 213 tonnes in 2011 to a new figureof 147 tonnes. There has been a correspondingincrease in ammonia usage (up from 16 tonnesin 2011, to 27 tonnes in 2012).

Planned outages in 2013Detailed planning for a major 16-week outageon Unit 3 began during the current reportingperiod.

Its scope of work is similar to the overhaulcompleted successfully on Unit 2 in 2012, butwill also include the installation of new NOX

abatement technologies to be trialled atLongannet.

Minimising tramp air ingress on the Unit 3’sboiler will be a key area of focus, with plans torepair 500m2 of boiler skin casing and install ahigh temperature expansion joint to improvethe vacuum seal at the ash hearth, as part of acomplete replacement of the existing ashhearth structure. A similar joint was installed onUnit 4 in 2009 and has delivered high levels ofperformance in minimising air ingress.

Other combustion improvements will include

unit shutdown. Other station-led projects weredesigned to improve compliance and achievecontinual improvement. The Furnace Bottom Ash (FBA) settling pondshave been upgraded in 2012 to significantlyreduce the likelihood of suspended solidsescaping to the Forth Estuary.

High water levels in 2010, combined withperiods of heavy rainfall, caused the ponds toflood resulting in two suspended solidenvironmental limit breaches.

Remedial work was carried out at the timebut, in the current reporting period, the pondswere dredged and new weirs were createdbetween the ponds. This has resulted in aslower flow of water and increased settling timefor solids before reaching the water dischargepoint to the Forth. Collapsible bunds are now provided for usewith portable oil purifiers after a small numberof oil spills associated with the equipment. Thenew bunds will prevent any oil leak fromreaching basement drains.

In addition, the Environment and Engineeringteams are investigating alternative hose materialfor use with the portable purifiers following anincident where a supplied hose wasn’t designedto carry warm oil and degraded, becoming

The new Smit generation transformer arrives at the station and, below left, the old unit is removed

Generation transformer swap overUnit 2’s generation transformer was anoriginal component put in place whenLongannet was built nearly 40 years ago.

The 280-tonne unit had reached the endof its operational life and was replaced witha new, more efficient design during Unit 2’soutage in 2012.

Management of waste and opportunitiesfor recycling are now considered by projectteams during the planning phase of thestation’s outages. As part of the

transformer replacement, plans were put inplace to scrap the transformer on site andrecover its valuable components.

Large volumes of copper and steel wererecovered for recycling – including aquantity of high-grade steel laminationsthat will be reprocessed in India and Chinafor reuse in smaller transformers.

Meanwhile, 120,000 litres of oil weredrained from the transformer and sentaway for renewal.

page 15

Inspection of the hydrazine dosing plant

fitting five new gas/coal burners and repairingothers, and the replacing the boiler’s sootblowerpipework. Replacement of part of the HighPressure Turbine steam chest and the generatortransformer are also planned during the Unit 3outage.

A six-week outage is planned on Unit 4 tocomplete the replacement of a number ofsecondary superheater outlet transition weldsthat were identified as defective during 2012.

Water Abstractions/DischargesWater is an essential part of Longannet’soperations but we aim to use water efficientlywithout causing harm to the environment.

Townswater for steam generation is stored inLongannet’s twin million gallon tanks beforebeing purified using a strictly-controlled amountof chemicals.

Steam leaving the turbines is converted backto water in the condensers, before beingrecirculated back to the boilers. Controlledamounts of chemicals are added to therecirculated condensate water to control its pHand minimise any oxygen in the water to protectsome types of steel in parts of the boiler.

Seawater extracted from the Forth Estuary isused for cooling the condensers and to absorbSO2 in the FGD absorber towers.

Again strictly-controlled doses of chemicalsare added to protect the condenser tubes andprevent the growth of marine organisms in theCW systems. The seawater is returned to theForth after use in line with discharge limits inthe station’s PPC Permit.

The Water Framework Directive requires allEuropean inland and coastal waters to reach“good” ecological status by 2015. The Directiverequires Longannet to be registered forabstracting water, including cooling water.

Longannet has been measuring and collatingdata on abstractions for future reporting sinceJanuary 2008. Meanwhile, in line with theresource use requirements of the site’s PPCpermit, Longannet seeks to reduce townswaterconsumption where possible.

Longannet’s townswater usage increasedslightly during 2012 – from 249m3/GWh in 2011to 258m3/GWh – and is the most per GWh since2008 (262m3/GWh) although figures havebeen relatively stable in recent years.

The increase was despitegreater availability of boreholewater, from undergroundaquifers on the station’s land,during the reporting period.

In 2011, the borehole’spump control system faileddue to pump equipmentbecoming fouled with depositsof iron oxide and the station waswithout borehole water from midAugust until the end of the year.

Borehole water is used for general duties,such as washing down, dust suppression and inthe fire hydrant system. The overhauled pumpoperated effectively throughout 2012, resultingin extracted borehole water volumes increasingto 430,199m3, from 340,658m3 in 2011.

Water leak repairs are a recurring theme in thetop 10-list of monthly maintenance tasks,helping reduce wastage and controllable losses.

Issues such as leaking and passing valves, and

wastage from pipework and drains, are nowbeing prioritised in maintenance plans andattacked as resources, spares and opportunitybecome available.

The Unit 2 outage scope of work alsoincluded a raft of valve replacement

and repair work in and around theboiler. Outage work to replace the

first stage radiant platenelements on Unit 2 and repairthe primary reheater on Unit 4helped reduce the potential forboiler tube leaks.

Although primarily anavailability issue, tube leaks can

result in water wastage – as theboiler has to be drained when a

tube leak occurs.Meters have been fitted throughout the

station’s water systems to provide data on wateruse and two additional meters were fitted/wiredup in 2012. Data from the meters will feed in tothe water monitoring system to further improveinformation about water consumption and loss.

Longannet’s Cold Weather Action Plan wasimplemented again in the winter months,including measures to improve the protection ofthe station’s water systems from frost damage.

Waste ManagementVolumes of waste solids and liquids producedincreased significantly in 2012 – largely as aresult of the major outage on Unit 2.

The extensive programme of work includedthe one-off disposal of a number of large itemsof plant equipment, including the 280-tonneUnit 2 generation transformer.

Meanwhile up to 500 extra contractors wereon site for several months, with an associatedincrease in mixed municipal waste and sewagesludge. Nevertheless, Longannet’s environmentteam and project teams continued to identifyopportunities to reuse, recover and recycle.

In 2012, 53% of the total waste produced onsite (excluding ash) was recovered for reuse orrecycling – the highest figure since 2009 (58%).

The volume of solid non-hazardous wasteincreased from 2,692 tonnes to 3,034 tonnes inthe reporting period – a rise of 13% – of which56% was recycled. This figure includes materialsuch as cardboard, paper, metals and plasticsthat are routinely recycled at waste segregationstations located throughout the plant.

Waste handling and the quality of segregationis scrutinised by senior station management ontheir weekly housekeeping tour of the plant and

page 16

Longannet’s waterabstraction licenses and

registrations are issued byS E PA under the Controlled

Activities Regulations (CAR).Discharge consents are alsogoverned by the CAR regime

or under the PPC Permit as apropriate.

The borehole water extraction point near Longannet – we increased our use of aquifer water in 2012

regular spot checks. Any issues are reported atour Health, Safety and Environment meetingsfor follow-up action by team leaders.

At the end of 2012 a review of the satellitewaste segregation stations has been started toidentify what can be done to improve wastesegregation “at source” by staff and contractors– i.e. put the right waste in the right bin.

More than 1,300 tonnes of metals and steelwere recovered for recycling, a large proportionof which was associated with the Unit 2 outageand the smaller Unit 4 outage in 2012.

There was also a significant 41% increase inthe amount of hazardous liquid waste, mostlyoil, arising from station activities – up from175,480 litres in 2011 to a new figure of299,590 litres. The vast majority of hazardousliquid is oil from equipment – including 120,000litres recovered from Unit 2 generationtransformer that was scrapped in 2012.

We achieved 100% reuse and recovery of thewaste oil. Water and other contaminants arelaundered by a specialist contractor fromLongannet’s bulk turbine lubricating oil which isthen returned for reuse by the station, whilegeneral waste oil is dewatered and cleaned forreuse as a low grade fuel. In the past three years,half a million litres of waste oil have beenrecovered at Longannet for reuse.

The other waste to show a large increase was

non-hazardous liquids – up from 119,242 litresin 2011 to 219,523 in 2012.

The 46% rise is related to the increase inseptic tank sludge arising from the temporaryincrease in station population during the unitoutages.

Hazardous solid waste, such as oil absorbentand insulating material, showed a slightdecrease during the year – from 231 tonnes in2011 to 196 tonnes in 2012. Of this total, 0.1%was recycled – mostly fluorescent tubes.

Despite the large increase in solid wastearising in 2012, there was only a slight increasein the overall amount disposed of to landfill –from 1,519 tonnes in 2011 to 1,544 tonnes inthe current reporting period.

Wherever possible, the station’senvironment team seek to reducethe amount of waste produced,and promote the reuse andrecycling of materials.

In 2012, Longannet sent 351tonnes of marine waste collectedat the CW drum screen trashbaskets to an organic wasterecycling plant Cumbernauld forcomposting with anaerobicdigestion.

The resulting methane gas issold to generate power while anutrient-rich biofertiliser by-product is sold to local farmers.The plant has capacity to providepower for around 2,000 homes.

Twelve Dyson hand driers wereinstalled in the station toiletsduring the year to reduce thevolume of paper towel waste. Thenew driers are also energyefficient, contributing to areduction in works power use.

Meanwhile, Longannet’s FGDproject team are exploringopportunities for reuse andrecycling as the constructionphase starts to wind down.

At its peak, the projectemployed up to 900 staff andcontractors who were housed in apurpose-built ‘cabin village’accommodation area on site.

As part of the FGD project, newroads and hardstanding areaswere created and large volume ofequipment were brought on tosite. By the end of 2012, onlyaround 140 FGD contractorsremained – all of whom shouldhave left by the end of next year.

Much of the surplus officeequipment – computers andfurniture – has already been sentoff site for reuse.

A discussion began in 2012about the future of the cabin village.It is due to be demolished at the end of the FGDcontract but Longannet is now looking atpotential of retaining the buildings asaccommodation for future outage teams.

In addition, several hundred tonnes of ‘typeone’ compactable gravel material, used as roadsurface protection and handstanding during theFGD works, will be retained for station use,

offering a more environmentally andcommercially sensible option to disposal at theend of the contract.

Resource recoveryThe largest volume of material produced atLongannet is power station ash that is createdduring the combustion process.

Pulverised Fuel Ash (PFA), or fly ash, is thefine powder that is removed from thecombustion flue gases by electrostaticprecipitators. Furnace Bottom Ash (FBA), whichis produced in much smaller quantities, has acoarser texture and is collected from the base ofthe furnace. ScotAsh Ltd, a joint venture

between ScottishPower and LafargeTarmac, processes Longannet’s ashfor reuse by the constructionindustry and manufacturesspecialist cements, grouts andwaste stabilisation products.

PFA not sold by ScotAsh ismixed with water and pumped toValleyfield Ash Storage Lagoons,6km east of the station, fordisposal to landfill. ScottishPowerpays Landfill Tax in respect of ashsent to the lagoons.

There was a breach ofsuspended solid discharge towater emission limits at ValleyfieldLagoons in December 2012, arisingfrom issues with the cenospherecollection pond and final settlingpond.

Cenospheres are lightweight ashbeads formed in the hightemperatures in the station’sfurnaces. The hollow beads floaton water and the collection pondis designed to capture thematerial, which is then recoveredand sold by ScotAsh for specialistapplications in paint and heat-resistant coatings.

During freezing conditions, icehad formed on the surface of thecollection pond and inhibited thesettling of suspended solids.

When the cenospheres werebeing skimmed off the collectionpond, solids were disturbed andmade their way to the finalcollection pond and then into theForth Estuary.

This resulted in twice thepermitted level of suspendedsolids being found during aroutine sample at the waterdischarge point – although anyenvironmental impact would havebeen negligible.

An investigation was carried outand an improvement plan put in

place for the collection ponds. Theywere drained and excavated to restore theirvolume and improve the settling process. It isanticipated the ponds will return to service bythe end of January 2013.

Meanwhile, construction of the new 900,000-tonnes capacity Lagoon No.22 at Valleyfield wascompleted in 2011 and the facility was fullycommissioned in 2012.

page 17

Waste Solids

94%

6%Hazardous

Non-Hazardous

Waste liquids

58%

42%

Hazardous

Non-Hazardous

Recycled solids

51%

49%Not Recycled

Recycled

Hazardous Liquids

57%

43%

Recycled

Not Recycled

page 18

NoiseLongannet experienced various noise issues in2012 that resulted in two reportable incidentsand six justified community complaints.

The most significant noise incidents, whichaffected the station’s CAS rating, both occurredin July. Unit 4’s Reheater safety valve R57 liftedas the unit increased load following its return toservice after an outage, resulting in a loud andsustained noise that was heard over a wide area.

Due to the seriousness of the incident and thenumber of community complaints/enquiriesthat arose, our regulators SEPA deemed it as areportable incident.

Our investigation determined the lift wascaused by flakes of magnetite, an oxide of iron,blocking the fine holes in the IP turbine steaminlet strainers. This restricted steam flow to theunit’s IP turbine causing the pressure in theReheater section of the boiler to rise.

It was believed water had entered the steampipework during leak testing carried out at thebeginning of the outage and this had caused thepipe’s magnetite coating to flake off.

This was the first time such an incident hadbeen recorded at the station and a number ofimprovements were implemented. Theseincluded a review of leak test procedures andthe installation of a pressure signal alarm to giveoperators an early warning of issues with thereheat steam pressure.

In addition, temperature monitoring will befitted to the Unit 4 Superheater and Reheatersafety valves during 2013 to aid quickidentification of valve lifts. This monitoring isalready installed on the other three Units.

The second loud noise incident in July was aresult of a safety valve lift associated with Unit3’s sootblower systems. We identified that acontrol valve had failed to throttle as the steamsupply increased in pressure – the safety valvewas subsequently refurbished.

Other community noise complaints in 2012related to what could be described asnuisance noise emanating from thestation.

As part of the station’s newmaintenance programme, anoise strategy is beingimplemented andmaintenance teams areplanning a systematiccondition-based assessmentof valves and silencers.

During the Unit 2 outage, thestation’s original steam drainvalves SD4-8 were replaced – whenworn, these can cause loud hissing whenthey are passing steam – and a set of new safetyvalve silencers was fitted to the SuperheaterSafety Valves on the boiler roof.

Looking ahead, steam leg drain valves andflange warming steam supply valves will bereplaced or overhauled on Unit 3 – again theseare a potential source of nuisance noise.Opportunities will also be taken to carry outremedial or interim repairs to steam leg drainvalves on Units 1 and 4 and overhaul the flangewarming steam supply valves on Unit 2.

Maintenance staff will also install additionalnoise insulation in the housing for the gear-driven air blowers that help oxygenate the FGDdischarge water at the outer flume seal pit.

Emergency/AbnormalConditionsOur procedures to manage abnormal oremergency conditions are audited regularly viathe station’s EMS and audits conducted byGeneration’s Environment Team.

Senior management also organise regularemergency exercises to test the response ofstation teams. In May 2012, a full site evacuationwas organised as part of a business continuityexercise involving staff and the emergencyservices. The scenario examined the station’sresponse if a bomb was found on site.

In autumn 2012, Longannet’s chemical spillprocedure was revised and tested during a

exercise relating to the station’sarrangements for handling delivery of

bulk chemicals to site. Learningpoints from both emergency

exercises have helped toimprove the station’sprocedures.

Meanwhile, a fire riskevaluation of all

ScottishPower’s generatingsites has identified a number of

action points for Longannet.These are aimed at ensuring the

integrity of the fire prevention anddetection system on site and ensuring the

availability and efficient operation of thestation’s fire-fighting system. A station-led teamhas implemented measures, includingimprovements to diesel tank level monitoringand gas bottle storage area.

A full inspection of the condition of morethan 100 storage tanks at the station will becarried out in 2013. The tanks come in all shapesand sizes and contain substances from corrosiveacids to oils and water.

The fabric of the tanks will be examined and anumber of structures will be repaired andredundant tanks removed, including a waste oiltank associated with the station’s main oilinterceptor at the seal pits at Longannet’s flume.

New safety valve silencers have been installed high up on the boiler roof to help control process noise

A new noisemonitoring point is

proposed at the waterabstraction boreholes north of the station. We have alsoupgraded our on-line noise

monitors to alert operationsstaff when noise levels

from the station are high.

The tank has reached the end of its operationallife and will be replaced by a new double-skinned waste oil recovery tank in June 2013,improving environmental protection.

Longannet’s Cold Weather Action Plan wasagain deployed in the winter months, followingthe severe disruption caused by extreme cold in2010-11. This includes ensuring the station hassufficient resources for four-weeks’ baseloadoperations to ensure continuity of output.

The station has invested in new equipment to keep its environs clear of snow and ice,including new tractor-mounted salt spreaders.

Contaminated LandPrevention of contamination and managementof contaminated land is built in to our EMS.

We maintain up-to-date registers of ourlandholdings in which each site is allocated a riskrating. This helps to prioritise investment inmeasures to minimise contamination risks.

Under the IPPC Directive, we had to conductcontaminated land surveys at Longannet as partof the process of applying for PPC permits andto hold regular ongoing reviews.

During 2012 we contributed to a businessreview of the process for identifying andmonitoring contaminated land. One of theoutputs has been to ensure that copies of all thehistoric reports are available to all staff via ourdocument management system, Documentum.

A procedure for carrying out site excavationshas also been reviewed to ensure it containsappropriate reference to checking contaminatedland records before commencing work.

Work was also carried out to survey thecondition of boreholes at Longannet, Valleyfieldand the site of the former Kincardine PowerStation. There are more than 100 boreholes onthese landholdings that are used to monitor forgroundwater, leachates and contaminants.

The monitoring, carried out by a hydrologistand the Environment Team, catalogued andphotographed boreholes and a schedule wasdrawn up for their repair and maintenance.

page 19

Longannet has a rolling programme ofenvironmental objectives and targets.

The Environmental Plan featured in this reportcovers the period 2012-2016 and aims to delivercontinual improvement in key areas such asemissions, water and energy use.

This section covers our achievements in 2012and outlines future targets, which are covered inour new Environmental Plan for 2013-2022.

Targets/Outcomes in 2012

ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCETarget: We aim to minimise notifiable incidentsto SEPA and receive zero regulatory actionsOutcome: There were five notifiable incidents –see panel (right) and Key Issues text. There wereno incidents classified as catastrophic or majorand no new enforcement notices, prosecutions,fines or formal actions by SEPA.

Target: Achieve CAS performance ratings of‘Good’ for the power station and an ‘Excellent’assessment of our performance under CAS forthe power station and Valleyfield respectivelyand ncorporate Longannet Lagoons into CAS forthe first time. Outcome: Achieved ‘Good’ rating for LongannetPower Station. The rating for Valleyfield Lagoonsdropped from ‘Excellent’ in 2011 to ‘Good’ in2012. Longannet Lagoons achieved ‘Excellent’ inits first assessment.

PPC PERMITTarget: Comply with all reporting, notificationand upgrade installation dates.Outcome: All reporting and notificationrequirements met, or an extensionapplied forand agreed with SEPA as necessary. Monthlyupdates sent to SEPA on FGD progress. Data wassubmitted on schedule to comply with ScottishPollutant Release Inventory requirements.

Target: Develop a decommissioning plan for thestation.Outcome: Target met. Plan will be reviewed andrevised every two years.

Target: Cease co-firing of WDFOutcome: Target met in on 30th April 2012.SEPA Enforcement Notice lifted now formallywithdrawn.

EMISSIONSTarget: Measure SO2, NOX and dust emissionsusing CEMS to ensure compliance with the UK’sNERP bubble limits under the LCPD.Outcome: Target met and reported emissionsverified by SEPA.

Target: Submit EU ETS Phase II monitoring andreporting plan on schedule for independentverification.Outcome: Target met.

Target: Complete commissioning of FGDabsorbers on Units 1 and 2 and completereconstruction of Unit 3 absorber.Outcome: Unit 1 commissioned. Units 2 and 3scheduled for completion in March andDecember 2013, respectively. Extension tocommissioning dates for Units 2 and 3 agreedby SEPA following submission of a PPC PermitVariation Application.

Target: Report on FGD the post commissioningperformance of Unit 1 FGD to SEPA.Outcome: Report finalised internally. To besubmitted to SEPA in early 2013.

Target: Minimise emissions to air.Outcome: Tramp air ingress targeted duringoutage periods to assist combustion efficiencyand reduce NOX production

Target: Minimise emissions to water.Outcome: Refurbishment of transition weirsbetween the FBA settlement ponds to reducesuspended solids level, completed in October.

RESOURCE USE and WASTESTarget: Review resource, water and energy useto identify further efficiency measures andminimise waste.

There were five incidents in 2012 – onemore than in 2011 – and the stationmissed its target of reducing reportableincidents to zero.

Two environmental incidents related toloud noise emissions from lifting safetyvalves on the main plant.

There was a minor SO2 emissions limitbreach on Units 1 and 2 which were abovethe target of 400mg/m3 as set by PPCPermit variation VN04 (which extendedthe FGD commissioning period).

There was also a minor oil release fromemission point W10 that was classified asan Environmental Event, although it didnot breaching our discharge limit.

The final incident was an environmentallimit breach involving a release ofsuspended solids to the estuary atValleyfield Lagoons.

This is the first reportable incident atthe site for at least four years since thestart of SEPA’s compliance assessmentscheme. These incidents are discussed inthe Key Issues section of the report.

Reportableincidents in 2012

Targets & Achievements: Longannet operates an improvementplan that sets out station targets and records our progress

Outcome: New water meters installed. Waterand energy monitoring continued to indentifypotential reductions. We continue to operate awaste segregation system and work with sitepersonnel and contractors to maximise re-useand recycling of wastes.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONTarget: Continue to deliver Biodiversity ActionPlan targets and actionsOutcome: 80% of actions delivered toSeptember 2012, following change to the rangerservice instigated by Fife Coast & CountrysideServiceTrust.

Target: Progress with design of the identifiedBest Available Technology for fish return.Outcome: Dialogue with SEPA is ongoing, datesset in PPC Permit VN04 for carrying out furtherinvestigation and design work were revised byagreement with SEPA from 2012 to 2013 whenPermit Variation VN05 was issued.

STAKEHOLDERSTarget: Minimise community complaints (6justified).Outcome: Seven justified complaints received –six relating to noise, one relating to dust.

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMTarget: Maintain certification to ISO 14001 andEMAS.Outcome: The station successfully underwent afull ISO14001: 2004 recertification audit at thebeginning of 2012, providing certification until2015. An external audit of Longannet’sIntegrated Management System will take placein March/April 2013.

Targets for 2013ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCETarget: Achieve ‘Good’ rating or higher in CASassessment for Valleyfield Lagoons andLongannet Power Station in 2013 assessment.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONTarget: Install NOX reduction technology,including improved combustion gas samplemonitoring across all four units and trialpulverised fuel control improvements on Unit 3.Target: Review procedures for managing oil andchemicals, including deliveries, to prevent therisk of pollution.

USE OF RESOURCESTarget: Develop Resource Efficiency Action Planfor the station and develop electricity and waterusage reduction measures for the Longannetadministration building.

STAKEHOLDERSTarget: Achieve six or fewer communitycomplaints.Target: Identify alternative method for providingranger service for Longannet and Valleyfield.

page 20

Longannet Power Station is committed toengaging with local communities andother interested parties and being a ‘Goodand Trusted Neighbour’.

The station continues to operate at the veryheart of the West Fife community, providingjobs for more than 250 direct employees and afurther 150 contracting colleagues.

There are also direct benefits from the influxof contractors to the station, for projects such asthe 2012 Unit 2 outage. Around 500 additionalstaff were on site during the year, many ofwhom stay in West Fife hotels and guest housesand support local shops and restaurants.

Station management is represented at theregular meetings of Kincardine, Culross and LowValleyfield Community Councils and quarterlyValleyfield Ash Liaison Committee meetings torespond to any environmental concerns orrequests for information.

We are also represented on the managementgroup of the Forth Estuary Forum which bringstogether businesses and organisations to helpcoordinate the sustainable use of the Forth’scoastline and marine areas.

In recent years, we have strengthened ourassociation with the emergency services both atLongannet and on the site of the formerKincardine Power Station.

We have opened up our facilities andlandholdings for special training initiatives thatwill help prepare emergency workers to savelives, fight crime and protect property.

In 2012, the station continued its partnershipwith the Scottish Police College at Tulliallan. Theextensive site at Kincardine is leased to thecollege and used for training by police officersfrom forces throughout Scotland.

Meanwhile, a state-of-the-art firefightingcentre is operated by Central Scotland Fire &Rescue Service at the Kincardine site.

We have also worked closely with CentralScotland Police, Fife Constabulary and theScottish Ambulance Service’s Special OperationsResponse Team, and given them access to ourfacilities. ScottishPower is also providing a freemeeting place, at Valleyfield Lagoons Site Office,

for public engagement meetings held every twomonths when Fife Police meet to address theconcerns of members of the community.

A long-running joint initiative to sponsor acommunity police vehicle came to an end in2012. The station and its key contractors havesponsored a community police vehicle since2004 to provide transport for community policeactivities in the West Fife villages,

An agreement in principle was reached in2012 to continue the sponsorship whenthe current car’s lease expired.However, Fife Police did notproceed with the initiative dueto the uncertainty overproposals to create a newsingle national police force.

In recent years,ScottishPower has targetedsupport for communityfacilities in Kincardine throughthe Landfill Tax Scheme.

The station pays landfill tax inrelation to ash disposal at Valleyfieldand Longannet Lagoons. Payments have beenmade in the past to help provide a new all-weather sports pitch, a multi-purpose arena, forsports such as basketball and five-a-side

football, a children’s play area and skateboardpark.

In 2012, the third phase of the programmewas completed with the opening of a theStewart Rankine Community Pavilion at the siteoff Feregait, near Tulliallan Primary School.

It brings to around £250,000 the suminvested by ScottishPower since the start of theprogramme, through Landfill Tax payments.

Station staff Alan Kemp and Willie Ferguson,the Fife Council representative for the

area, and ScottishPower Director RonHunter, were present at the

opening of the new facility.It will serve four local football

teams, provide a meeting placefor Kincardine and Tulliallangroups and serve as a base forcommunity events, such as the

annual gala. The pavilion, which cost

£300,000, was a much-neededresource – the former building was

dilapidated and had no hot water forfootballers to shower after their match.

Councillor Ferguson said: “Without the moneyfrom ScottishPower, none of these facilitieswould have been possible.

Pictured at the opening of the new pavilion, fromleft, Alan Kemp, Willie Ferguson and Ron Hunter

There was an increase in communitycomplaints – up from three in 2011, toseven in the current reporting period.

We missed our target of achieving sixor fewer complaints during the year.

Six complaints were related tonuisance noise and all occurred in thesecond half of the year.

Remedial action and repairs werecarried out at the earliest opportunityand each complaint was investigated bystation management, who ensured thecomplainant was kept informed aboutthe action being taken. A schedule ofwork, detailed on page 18, is designed toimprove our noise controls.

The other complaint related tonuisance dust from lorries moving onthe station’s coal stock during a periodof dry, windy weather.

Although the lorry roadway had beensprayed with water to dampen downdust, the surface had dried more quicklythan expected and fugitive dustescaped. The coal plant operators havebeen reminded about the need forvigilance in dry weather and whenvehicles are moving on the stockpile.

Communitycomplaints in 2012

Social and Community: How Longannet engages with our localcommunity and stakeholders, and our workforce’s charity giving

ScottishPowerworks in partnership

with Cancer Research UKand Longannet staff andcontractors raised almost

£2,000 for the charity in 2012through raffles and events.

A donation of £276was also made to

Sports Relief.

page 21

“The old pavilion did not do much to enhancethe reputation of the village. Now visiting teamsand referees praise it as a superb facility – betterthan some senior league teams can offer.

“We have put a management agreement inplace to maintain the pavilion going forward. It isa real asset to the community.”

The station continues to support communityinitiatives with donations at the stationmanager’s discretion. We continued oursponsorship of the children’s races at KincardineGala Day in 2012. A payment was also made tosupport the planting of flowers and bulbs in LowValleyfield as part of their Village in Bloomsubmission. The community won a Silver Awardin the contest.

Longannet also supported the Culross Festivalin 2012 – the 20th year of the annual celebrationof arts and music in the village.

Longannet Power Station’s Visitor Centrecontinues to welcome organised parties to findout more about the station’s activities.

In 2012, more than 500 adults and childrentook part in station visits, with a high proportionfrom schools, colleges and universities.

These included the Universities of St Andrewsand Stirling, and Wellington, Falkland House,Kilgraston and Queen Anne schools.

Longannet Power Station and our ashdisposal site at Valleyfield Lagoons extendover 289 hectares and feature a wide varietyof habitats used by wildlife.

Our landholdings include our operationalareas – the generating station, coal plant, carparks and hardstanding, offices, workshopsand active lagoons.

But there are extensive areas of semi-natural grassland, plantations of nativetrees, pockets of scrubland and wetlands.

At Valleyfield, 6km east of Longannet, thismosaic of habitats has led to the site beingdesignated part of the Firth of Forth Site ofSpecial Scientific Interest (SSSI) in 1991 andincluded in the 683-hectares Torry Bay LocalNature Reserve (LNR) designation in 1996.

The Valleyfield site is also an importantelement in the make-up of the Inner ForthEstuary, which is internationally recognisedfor its value to wildlife, especially birds.

The area is covered by natural historydesignations including the Firth of ForthRamsar site and Special Protection Area.

To encourage biodiversity on our site, thepower station maintains a BiodiversityAction Plan (BAP) which was launched in2004 and updated in 2009.

For many years, we have co-sponsored aCountryside Ranger to manage Torry BayLNR and to help implement the station’s BAPalong with the Environment Team.

This arrangement came to an end inSeptember 2012, at the instigation of the Fife Coast and Countryside Trust whoredeployed the Ranger to other duties. As aconsequence, Longannet is now seeking analternative solution to delivering the actionswithin its BAP.

A key focus of the BAP in 2012 was thecontinuation of seed trials using FurnaceBottom Ash as a growing medium at LagoonNo.5 at Valleyfield.

In October 2011, 12 x 25m2 plots wereplanted with grass seeds – a mix of nativeand cultivated species to determine whichgrew best in the ash.

The trial was assessed inspring/summer 2012,and it was foundto have beensuccessful. Thismeans FBA could beusefully recycled as acapping material atthe site, promoting re-use of waste andoffsetting more valuable aggregates,such as colliery shale, which has been usedfor capping in the past.

The FBA was subsequently used forgrowing annual flowering plants, such asmarigolds, with similar success.

Meanwhile, monitoring of Valleyfield andLongannet’s wildlife continued in the firstnine months of the year, with the rangerjoined by a botanist and other naturalists.

Up to nine species of birds listed on the UKBiodiversity Action Plan (UK BAP) have beenrecorded nesting at ScottishPower’s sites:Skylark, House Sparrow, Common Linnet,Reed Buntng, Grey Partridge, Lapwing, SongThrush, Grasshopper Warbler and Starling.

A nestbox scheme is operated for smallbirds at both Longannet and Valleyfield,while artificial nestboxes have been put inplace on islands at Valleyfield for ducks.

One new species of bird was seen duringthe year – a Pomarine Skua.

Monitoring continued for bumblebeesand butterflies – Small Heath, a UK BAPspecies, was added to the Valleyfield listfor the first time in 2012. Another species,the Comma was also seen for the firsttime – this species is rapidly expanding itsrange north into Scotland

A moth enthusiast also carried out aseries of ‘light trapping’ sessions – withseveral new species found including theUK BAP Ghost Moth, Scalloped Haxel, OldLady, Marbled Minor, Lime-speck Pug,

Willow Ermine, Small Magpie, Ingrailed Clay,the Flame and Setaceous Hebrew Character.

In addition, a new mammal was found forValleyfield – the Daubenton Bat.

Ghost Moth, this is a female, was new for site

Biodiversity & Conservation: Our work tobenefit habitats and wildlife on our sites

Small Heath is a UK BAP butterfly species

ScallopedHazel moth

The new pavilion was supported byScottishPower and Fife Council

BAP Biodiversity Action Plan

biomass biological material, such as wood, agricultural cropsand other plant substances, that can be used as asource of fuel

BETTA British Electricity Transmission and TradingArrangements. GB-wide electricity marketarrangements launched in April 2005

BOFA Boosted Over Fire Air: Technique used to reduceemissions of oxides of nitrogen during thecombustion process.

CAR Controlled Activities Regulations

CAS Compliance Assessment Scheme

CEMS Continuous Emissions Monitoring System

CFD Computational Fluid Dynamics

CO2 Carbon dioxide. A greenhouse gas associated withclimate change

CW Circulating, or cooling water: Longannet extractssignificant amounts of riverwater from the ForthEstuary for its cooling processes

EFOR Effective Forced Outage Rate

EMAS Eco-Management and Audit Scheme

EMS Environmental Management System

EU ETS European Union Emissions Trading Scheme

FBA Furnace Bottom Ash: A residue generated by coal-fired power stations, such as Longannet

FEED Front End Engineering Design

FGD Flue Gas Desulphurisation: Process used to reduceemissions of sulphur dioxide from fossil-fuel powergeneration

GWh Gigawatt hour, 109 watt hours. Unit of power

HCl Hydrogen Chloride

IED Industrial Emissions Directive, which will replace theLarge Combustion Plants Directive (LCPD) and otherlegislation and will tighten considerably emissionlimit values for NOX, SO2 and dust

IPC Integrated Pollution Control. A UK regulatory systemof control over industrial emissions which reflectsthe interdependence of the environmental media(water, atmosphere and land) by considering themtogether and issuing a single authorisation

IPPC European Commission Directive on IntegratedPollution Prevention and Control. This replaced IPC and Waste Management licences at LongannetPower Station and Valleyfield Lagoons

IS0 14001 International standard for EMS

kg/s kilograms per second

kTonnes kTe. kilo tonnes. 1,000 Tonnes

KPI Key Performance Indicator

kWh Kilowatt hour: 103 watt hours. Unit of power

LCPD Large Combustion Plant Directive: Directive2001/80/EC of the European Parliament and theCouncil on the limitation of emissions of certainpollutants into the air from large combustion plant

LNR Local Nature Reserve

Load Factor The amount of electricity produced by a powerstation in relation to its capacity

Low NOx burners Equipment to reduce emissions of oxides of

nitrogen from coal-fired stations

Mm3 Millions of cubic metres

MTU Mobile Test Unit

MW MegaWatt. One million Watts

NOx Oxides of nitrogen, which contribute to acid raincausing damage to vulnerable freshwater systems,forestry etc; also leads to poor air quality

OPRA Operator and Pollution Risk Appraisal, which iscarried out by SEPA

PFA Pulverised Fuel Ash. A by-product generated bycoal-fired stations

pH Measure of acidity/alkalinity

Ramsar The Convention of Wetlands is an intergovernmental treaty that provides a framework fornational action and international co-operation for the conservation and wise use ofwetlands and their resources

ROCs Renewable Obligation Certificates, that are awardedunder the Renewables Obligation to energygenerators for each unit of electricity that isgenerated from a renewable source

ROFA Rotating Opposed Fire Air

RSPB Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

SEPA Scottish Environment Protection Agency, theenvironmental regulatory authority in Scotland

SCR Selective Catalytic Reduction: a method of NOX

abatement, currently being considered byLongannet, to reduce emissions by up to 90%

SNCR Selective Non Catalytic Reduction

SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest

SO2 Sulphur dioxide, which contributes to acid rain andcan affect local air quality

Two shifting A flexible system of plant operation whereby unitsstart up when market prices are advantageous andshut down when they are not

WDF Waste Derived Fuel

WID Waste Incineration Directive

Glossary of terms: A quick guide to some of the abbreviationsand technical terminology used in this year’s EMAS Statement

Two new salt spreaders purchased as part of our Cold Weather Action Plan

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ScottishPower is part of theIBERDROLA Group, one of the fourlargest energy companies in theworld by market capitalisation.

ScottishPower GenerationHoldings Ltd operatesScottishPower’s diverse generationportfolio, which includes coal, gasand hydro power stations.

For more information, visit theGeneration business’s website:www.spenergywholesale.com

Longannet EMAS Statement 2012 is published by:

Longannet Power Station,Kincardine-on-Forth, by Alloa, Clackmannanshire, FK10 4AATel: 01259 730631

Verified by Ted Rosser,Lead EMAS Auditor for LRQA.

Produced by Lauder Stewart Communications Ltd.

Tel: 01475 540791

UK 000079