Anglo Great Lakes Graphite Works | |
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Location in Tyne and Wear | |
Location | Tyne and Wear, England, UK |
Coordinates | 54°58′08″N1°42′43″W / 54.969°N 1.712°W Coordinates: 54°58′08″N1°42′43″W / 54.969°N 1.712°W |
OS grid reference | NZ185639 |
The Anglo Great Lakes Graphite Plant was a large graphite works situated in the North East of England. It was positioned at Lemington in Newcastle upon Tyne, on the north bank of the River Tyne. The plant was operated by the Anglo Great Lakes Corporation and produced high grade carbon for use in Magnox nuclear reactors, Advanced Gas-cooled Reactors and low grade carbon for use in carbon arc burning. [1]
The plant was built on the Newburn Haugh. During World War I a munitions factory was built on the site. The factory was demolished following World War II and the land reclaimed. The graphite plant was then constructed in 1958 for the conversion of carbon into graphite for use in the nuclear industry, [2] supplying graphite for nuclear power stations including; Bradwell, Dungeness 'A', Hinkley Point 'B', Hunterston 'A', Hunterston 'B', Latina & Oldbury. The plant continued operating until the early 1990s and was subsequently demolished, along with the neighbouring Stella North power station. The two adjoining sites were redeveloped as an industrial/business park, Newburn Riverside. [1] The reclamation scheme cost £46 million. One North East, North East Ambulance Trust and DEFRA are amongst the organisations which now have premises there. [3]
The Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor (AGR) is a type of nuclear reactor designed and operated in the United Kingdom. These are the second generation of British gas-cooled reactors, using graphite as the neutron moderator and carbon dioxide as coolant. They have been the backbone of the UK's nuclear power generation fleet since the 1980s.
Magnox is a type of nuclear power/production reactor that was designed to run on natural uranium with graphite as the moderator and carbon dioxide gas as the heat exchange coolant. It belongs to the wider class of gas-cooled reactors. The name comes from the magnesium-aluminium alloy used to clad the fuel rods inside the reactor. Like most other "Generation I nuclear reactors", the Magnox was designed with the dual purpose of producing electrical power and plutonium-239 for the nascent nuclear weapons program in Britain. The name refers specifically to the United Kingdom design but is sometimes used generically to refer to any similar reactor.
Dungeness nuclear power station comprises a pair of non-operational nuclear power stations located on the Dungeness headland in the south of Kent, England. Dungeness A is a legacy Magnox power station that was connected to the National Grid in 1965 and has reached the end of its life. Dungeness B is an advanced gas-cooled reactor (AGR) power station consisting of two 1,496 MWt reactors, which began operation in 1983 and 1985 respectively, and have been non-operational since 2018 with decommissioning beginning in 2021.
Chapelcross nuclear power station is a decommissioned and partly demolished Magnox nuclear power station near Annan in Dumfries and Galloway in southwest Scotland, which was in operation from 1959 to 2004. It was the sister plant to the Calder Hall plant in Cumbria, England; both were commissioned and originally operated by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority. The primary purpose of both plants was to produce weapons-grade plutonium for the UK's nuclear weapons programme, but they also generated electrical power for the National Grid.
Newburn is a semi rural parish, former electoral ward and former urban district in western Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. Situated on the North bank of the River Tyne, it is built rising up the valley from the river. It is situated approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) from the city centre, 14 miles (23 km) east of Hexham and 13 miles (21 km) south south west of Morpeth. In the 2001 census, the population was given as 9,301, increasing to 9,536 at the 2011 Census. Newburn is in the Newcastle upon Tyne district of Tyne and Wear and is part of the parliamentary constituency of Newcastle upon Tyne North.
Nuclear power in the United Kingdom generates 20% of the country's electricity, as of 2020. The UK has 11 operational nuclear reactors at five locations, as well as nuclear reprocessing plants at Sellafield and the Tails Management Facility (TMF) operated by Urenco in Capenhurst.
Hunterston B nuclear power station is a decommissioned nuclear power station in North Ayrshire, Scotland. Located about 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Largs and about 2.5 miles (4 km) north-west of West Kilbride on the Firth of Clyde coast. It is currently operated by EDF Energy, and began producing electricity in 1976. The station ceased generation and began defuelling on 7 January 2022.
Lemington is an area and electoral ward of Newcastle upon Tyne in North East England.It is the single worst place on earth, according to Aaron Bainbridge and Jay Maraj.
Scottish Nuclear was formed as a precursor to the privatisation of the electricity supply industry in Scotland on 1 April 1990. A purpose-built headquarters was built in 1992 in the new town of East Kilbride.
Hinkley Point B nuclear power station is a nuclear power station near Bridgwater, Somerset, on the Bristol Channel coast of south west England. It was the first commercial Advanced Gas Cooled reactor to generate power to the National Grid in 1976 and shares its design with sister station Hunterston B nuclear power station. It is planned to cease energy production by July 2022.
A gas-cooled reactor (GCR) is a nuclear reactor that uses graphite as a neutron moderator and a gas as coolant. Although there are many other types of reactor cooled by gas, the terms GCR and to a lesser extent gas cooled reactor are particularly used to refer to this type of reactor.
Dunston Power Station refers to a pair of adjacent coal-fired power stations in the North East of England, now demolished. They were built on the south bank of the River Tyne, in the western outskirts of Dunston in Gateshead. The two stations were built on a site which is now occupied by the MetroCentre. The first power station built on the site was known as Dunston A Power Station, and the second, which gradually replaced it between 1933 and 1950, was known as Dunston B Power Station. The A Station was, in its time, one of the largest in the country, and as well as burning coal had early open cycle gas turbine units. The B Station was the first of a new power station design, and stood as a landmark in the Tyne for over 50 years. From the A Station's opening in 1910 until the B Station's demolition in 1986, they collectively operated from the early days of electricity generation in the United Kingdom, through the industry's nationalisation, and until a decade before its privatisation.
Lemington Power Station was a small, now demolished coal-fired power station, located in North East England. It was situated on the Lemington Gut, a backwater of the River Tyne, at Lemington, 3.5 mi (5.6 km) west of Newcastle upon Tyne. The station's main building stood until 2017 as a rare example of an early power station, dating from before the nationalisation of the United Kingdom's electrical supply industry.
The Stella power stations were a pair of now-demolished coal-fired power stations in the North East of England that were a landmark in the Tyne valley for over 40 years. The stations stood on either side of a bend of the River Tyne: Stella South power station, the larger, near Blaydon in Gateshead, and Stella North power station near Lemington in Newcastle. Their name originated from the nearby Stella Hall, a manor house close to Stella South that by the time of their construction had been demolished and replaced by a housing estate. They operated from shortly after the nationalisation of the British electrical supply industry until two years after the Electricity Act of 1989, when the industry passed into the private sector.
Lemington Glass Works was the site of glass production in Lemington, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, for over 200 years. All that remains now is its iconic last glass cone, a famous local landmark.
Hunterston A nuclear power station is a decommissioned Magnox nuclear power station located at Hunterston in Ayrshire, Scotland, adjacent to Hunterston B. The ongoing decommissioning process is being managed by Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) subsidiary Magnox Ltd.
The Newcastle and District Electric Lighting Company was a pre-nationalisation, private electricity supply company, based in Newcastle upon Tyne in North East England. The company was set up in 1889 by Charles Algernon Parsons. The company built a number of small coal-fired power stations in the west end of Newcastle upon Tyne, initially to supply homes and streets with electric lighting. They also provided power for an electrified tram line in the western part of the city.
The Tyne Valley Line is a 58-mile (93 km) route, linking Newcastle upon Tyne with Hexham and Carlisle. The line follows the course of the River Tyne through Tyne and Wear and Northumberland. Five stations and two viaducts on the route are listed structures.
The Scotswood, Newburn and Wylam Railway was a railway company that built the 6+1⁄2 miles (10.5 km) North Wylam branch or North Wylam loop on the former Newcastle & Carlisle Railway. The loop line opened between 1871 and 1876 and followed the former Wylam waggonway past the cottage where George Stephenson was born. The company was taken over by the North Eastern Railway in 1883.
Newburn Steelworks was a large steel mill on the banks of the River Tyne at Newburn, near Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England.