New Energy World™
New Energy World™ embraces the whole energy industry as it connects and converges to address the decarbonisation challenge. It covers progress being made across the industry, from the dynamics under way to reduce emissions in oil and gas, through improvements to the efficiency of energy conversion and use, to cutting-edge initiatives in renewable and low-carbon technologies.
Converting the Aboño coal-fired power station to gas
8/9/2026
8 min read
Feature
An extensive conversion project turned a Spanish coal-fired power station to run on gas, reducing emissions, extending the plant’s life and providing cleaner, more flexible generation, writes Matthew Shields, Director of Operations at combustion engineering firm RJM International, winner of the King’s Award for Enterprise: International Trade 2026.
Built in 1985, Aboño 2 is an opposed wall-fired Foster Wheeler boiler, with 36 burners in a six column/three row configuration driving a 556MWe capacity steam turbogenerator. As well as coal, the plant fired fuel oil and blast furnace gas (BFG) from an adjacent Arcelor-Mittal steelworks. (The fuel oil, originally used for start-up only, was replaced by gas in 2019.)
The power station is owned and operated by Energias de Portugal (EDP), a major global utility generator with a total installed capacity of over 32,000MW. EDP is committed to clean energy and drives its global growth through electrification, focusing on renewables, resilient networks and balanced investment to deliver a sustainable future.
When Spain introduced its national plan to decarbonise the economy, it legislated for all coal-firing to cease operating by the end of August 2025. This meant that coal-fired power plants either had to shut down or transition to an alternative fuel.