The station, which in its final years was owned and operated by Npower, was oil-fired, powered by heavy fuel oil.

[3] Due to oil being more expensive than other fuels such as coal and natural gas, Fawley did not operate continuously, but came on line at times of high demand.

It was also connected to the National Grid with circuits going to Nursling and a tunnel under Southampton Water to Chilling then to Lovedean with a local substation at Botley Wood.

Fawley was one of the Hinton Heavies, and was built by Mitchell Construction Architect Colin Morse RIBA[4] for the CEGB between 1965[5] and 1969.

On 18 September 2012, RWE npower announced they would be shutting down Fawley power station by the end of March 2013, due to the EU Large Combustion Plant Directive.

[16] The second series of British medical comedy Green Wing featured a scene that was shot in the control room.

In 2017 it was announced that the power station site would be turned into a "new town" consisting of 1,500 residential units, commercial and civic space, and a new school.

[19][20] The development has been referred to as Fawley Waterside, and was designed by Léon Krier, Ben Pentreath, and Kim Wilkie.

[22] However, estate owner Aldred Drummond stepped down as CEO of the Fawley Waterside company in 2023, and the project was shelved in 2024.