Cottam Development Centre (CDC) is a Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) with a generation capacity of 400MW. Using single shaft technology CDC is designed to run with an efficiency of greater than 58%.

The plant consists of a Siemens gas turbine exhausting into a three pressure horizontal gas flow heat recovery boiler. The steam from this is routed through a three-section reaction steam turbine.

The alternator has a capacity of 471 MVA and is hydrogen and water cooled. Capable of delivering 13,000 ampers at 21,000 volts, the voltage is stepped up in the generator transformer to 400,000 volts for distribution.

The Gas Turbine at CDC has over 250 blades each costing roughly as much as a quality large sized saloon car. The amount of air consumed by the Gas Turbine every second is 560m3/second - enough to fill three average sized living rooms.

The Unique Construction of CDC

CDC Power Station was originally a joint venture between Powergen and Siemens and known as Cottam Development Centre Limited. It was built to be a test bed, which would allow Siemens to test and develop advances in combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) technology, under normal commercial operating conditions.

Construction of the site commenced in July 1997, on land which used to be a football and cricket pitch adjacent to Cottam Power Station. During construction, the heavy components of the power plant, loads of up to 400t, were transported by inland waterways to overcome road restrictions and damage to the roads. After the construction and commissioning phase, commercial operation of the plant began in September 1999. It became a wholly owned asset of Powergen / E.ON in May 2002.