Sian Crampsie looks at companies investing in so-called car park plants to meet the country’s growing need for peaking power

Efforts in the UK to improve the country’s generating capacity margin have resulted in the construction of a large swathe of ‘car park’ power plants.

Driven by initiatives such as National Grid’s Short Term Operating Reserve (STOR) programme, and more recently, the government’s capacity market, developers have been quick to identify opportunities for the construction of small, efficient diesel and gas-fired power plants.