USKMOUTH Power Station has been officially re-opened securing 40 jobs in the Newport area.

The former coal-fired power station closed in May last year but will now be converted to bio-mass energy by new Hong Kong-based owners SIMEC Group and more than 40 workers will be re-employed at the site near Newport.

The plant was re-opened on June 12 by Vale of Glamorgan MP Alun Cairns, and the Honorary Consul of India in Wales, Mr Raj Kumar Aggarwal OBE, DL, and SIMEC chairman, Mr P.K. Gupta.

Mr Gupta said: “SIMEC is proud to bring the Uskmouth power station back to life and give it a future with our innovative renewable technologies. Uskmouth is a good investment for SIMEC and will result in significant employment and economic activity for Wales and the UK.”

Mr Gupta heads one of the prominent business families from India. The Gupta family has business interests in various sectors globally with SIMEC and Liberty as their prominent brands, while it also owns nearby steel mill, Liberty Steel Newport.

Mr Aggarwal added: “This is yet another example of how Wales is attracting more and more major foreign investment. In the past few years Wales has built a much bigger profile on the world stage and is now seen by many foreign companies as a profitable area for expansion.”

The former coal-fired station based on the east bank of the Usk estuary will be converted to use bio-mass energy generation using the latest pyrolysis gasification technology, as well as looking at developing solar and wind power for the UK grid.

The group says it plans for the site to be a hub for proven clean technologies and act as an incubator for the next generation of green technologies.