E.ON has put its plans on hold for new coal-fired power units at Kingsnorth.

Plans for a new coal-fired power station in Kingsnorth, Kent, have been abandoned by E.ON because of economic reasons and the fall in demand for electricity.

The plans, applied for in 2006, were to build two newer, cleaner coal-fired power units, have been put on hold for at least another three years.

The Press Association has quoted an E.ON spokesperson as saying: “This [the delay] is based on the global recession, which has pushed back the need for a new plant in the UK to around 2016 because of the reduction in demand for electricity.

“As a group, we remain committed to the development of cleaner coal and carbon capture and storage (CCS), which we believe have a key role to play alongside renewables, gas and nuclear, in tackling the global threat of climate change while ensuring affordability and security of energy supplies.”

The site for the Kingsnorth power station has been the focus of many demonstrations by environmental protesters – including the setting up of a camp next to the station by the Climate Camp movement – who have objected to the amount of carbon dioxide the station would emit.

John Sauven, Greenpeace Executive Director, said: “This development is extremely good news for the climate and in a stroke significantly reduces the chances of an unabated Kingsnorth plant ever being built. The case for new coal is crumbling, with even E.ON now accepting it’s not currently economic to build new plants.

“The huge diverse coalition of people who have campaigned against Kingsnorth because of the threat it posed to the climate should take heart that emissions from new coal are now even less likely in Britain.”

German energy group E.ON is the world’s largest investor-owned power and gas company. If its plans for cleaner coal units at Kingsnorth had gone ahead, it would have been the first new coal build in the UK for 20 years, providing cleaner and more efficient electricity for 1.5 million homes.