Cardiff power stations

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Cardiff power stations
Cardiff power stations
Country Wales
Location Cardiff
Coordinates 51°29′42″N03°08′45″W / 51.49500°N 3.14583°W / 51.49500; -3.14583
StatusDecommissioned and demolished
Construction began1891
Commission date 1894
Decommission date1970
Owner(s)Cardiff Corporation
(1894–1948)
British Electricity Authority
(1948–1955)
Central Electricity Authority
(1955–1957)
Central Electricity Generating Board
(1958–1970)
Operator(s)As owner
Thermal power station
Primary fuelCoal
Turbine technologySteam turbines and steam reciprocating engines
Chimneys2
Cooling towers2
Cooling sourceCooling pond, river and cooling towers
Power generation
Units operational3 x 5 MW, 1 x 12.5 MW, 2 x 30 MW
Make and modelBritish Thomson-Houston, Fraser & Chalmers, Metropolitan-Vickers
Nameplate capacity 83 MW
Annual net output 384.68 GWH (1946)
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The Cardiff power stations supplied electricity to the City of Cardiff and the surrounding area from 1894 to about 1970. The original power station was in Riverside; a larger replacement station was built in Roath in the 1902, initially to supply the tramway system. They were both owned and operated by Cardiff Corporation prior to the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948. The Roath power station was redeveloped in the 1920s and 1940s to meet the increased demand for electricity.

Contents

History

In 1891 Cardiff Corporation applied for a Provisional Order under the Electric Lighting Acts to generate and supply electricity to the city. This was granted by the Board of Trade and was confirmed by Parliament through the Electric Lighting Orders Confirmation (No. 8) Act 1891 (54 & 55 Vict. c. civ). [1] The original power station was built on Eldon Road, Riverside (at 51°28′40″N03°11′58″W / 51.47778°N 3.19944°W / 51.47778; -3.19944 ) [2] [ failed verification ] and it first supplied electricity in 1894. Further equipment was added to meet the rising demand for electricity; by the 1920s it had a generating capacity of 900 kW. [3]

A larger power station was built in Roath (at 51°29′42″N03°08′45″W / 51.49500°N 3.14583°W / 51.49500; -3.14583 ). [4] This was initially intended to supply Cardiff Corporation Tramways from 1902; the tram depot was adjacent to the power station. The power station was expanded with new generating plant between 1922 and 1928 which was also known as the low pressure station. A high pressure plant was commissioned in 1942–43 bringing the generating capacity to 83 MW. The power station at Roath operated until about 1970.

Equipment specification

The initial installation of plant at the Eldon Road site in 1894 comprised triple expansion and compound condensing engines coupled directly to Siemens and Ferranti dynamos. The plant had a rating of 740 kW. [5]

The station was supplied with coal via a siding off the nearby South Wales Mainline railway. [2]

Cooling of condenser water was by a cooling pond west of the power station building. [2]

By 1922 the plant at Eldon Road comprised boilers delivering 24,000 lb/h (3.02 kg/s) of steam to 3 × 300 kW reciprocating engines generating alternating current. [3]

Plant in 1923

By 1923 the generating plant at the Roath station comprised: [3]

These machines gave a total generating capacity of 14,400 kW comprising 12,000 kW of alternating current (AC) plus 2,400 kW of direct current (DC). [3]

Electricity supplies to consumers were:

Plant in 1924–28

New plant was commissioned at Roath in 1924, 1925 and 1928. This comprised: [6]

Plant in 1942–43

High pressure plant was installed at Roath in 1942–43 comprising:

The station was supplied with coal via a siding off the nearby South Wales Mainline railway. [4]

Condenser cooling water was drawn from the River Rhymney, supplemented by two concrete cooling towers each with a capacity of 2.2 million gallons per hour (2.78 m3/s). [6] The towers were built in 1942 and were painted in camouflage. [7]

Operations

Operating data 1898

Operating data 1921–23

The electricity supply data for the period 1921–23 was: [3]

Cardiff power station supply data 1921–23
Electricity UseUnitsYear
192119221923
Lighting and domesticMWh5,7756,1657,580
Public lightingMWh627658642
TractionMWh4,7894,6594,568
PowerMWh4,2065,1277,245
Bulk supplyMWh14177
Total useMWh15,41216,62720,040

Electricity Loads on the system were: [3]

Maximum loadkW192119221923
8,7209,79810,435
Total connectionskW22,41226,92532,664
Load factorPer cent26.326.328.4

Revenue from sales of current (in 1923) was £175,403; the surplus of revenue over expenses (1923) was £98,169. [3]

Operating data 1946

Cardiff power station operating data for 1946 is: [8]

Load factor per centMax output load MWElectricity supplied MWhThermal efficiency per cent
53.382,448384,67919.96

The British electricity supply industry was nationalised in 1948 under the provisions of the Electricity Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. 6 c. 54). [9] The Cardiff electricity undertaking was abolished, ownership of Cardiff power station was vested in the British Electricity Authority, and subsequently the Central Electricity Authority and the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB). [10] At the same time the electricity distribution and sales responsibilities of the Cardiff electricity undertaking were transferred to the South Wales Electricity Board (SWEB).

Operating data 1954–67

Operating data for the period 1954–67 was: [6] [11] [12]

Cardiff power station operating data, 1954–67
YearRunning hours or load factor (per cent)Max output capacity  MWElectricity supplied GWhThermal efficiency per cent
Low pressure
195431892639.96210.42
195524802624.2189.84
195623352624.7879.47
195716812615.0938.93
19581094269.6439.07
High pressure
1954700757236.69120.99
1955587457232.81121.12
1956610957233.35420.05
1957554657173.72119.49
195839335772.81318.62
Total output
196122.6 %83163.98718.28
196218.1 %75128.43016.53
196317.37 %75114.09116.52
19679.6 %7553.94715.57

The output from the stations in MWh is shown on the following graph.

Cardiff supply district

Following nationalisation Cardiff became an electricity supply district, covering 80.9 square miles (209.5 km2) with a population of 283,040 in 1958. The number of consumers and electricity sold in the Cardiff district was: [6]

Year195619571958
Number of consumers87,23689,04090,837
Electricity sold MWh487,251483,46290,837

In 1958 the number of units sold to categories of consumers was: [6]

Electricity sold to consumers
Type of consumerNo. of consumersElectricity sold MWh
Domestic80,493128,159
Farms3462,341
Commercial8,80475,568
Industrial1,186289,342
Public lighting75.182
Traction18,662
Total90,837509,254

Closure

Cardiff power station (Roath) was decommissioned in about 1970. [13] The buildings were demolished in 1972 and the area has been redeveloped with commercial premises. [7]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Local Acts 1891". legislation.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 2011-02-03. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 Glamorgan XLIII.14 (Cardiff; Lecwith) (Map). 10,560. Ordnance Survey. 1920.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Electricity Commissioners (1925). Electricity Supply – 1920–23. London: HMSO. pp. 110–13, 338–43.
  4. 1 2 Ordnance Survey Six-inch England and Wales Glamorgan XLIII.SE (includes: Cardiff.), revised 1947, published 1951
  5. 1 2 3 Garcke, Emile (1898). Manual of Electrical Undertakings 1898-99 vol. 3. London: P. S. King and Son. pp. 134–36.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Garrett, Frederick (1959). Garcke's Manual of Electricity Supply vol. 56. London: Electrical Press. pp. A-42 A-116 B-143–4.
  7. 1 2 "Cardiff corporation electric power station Roath power station (418146)". Coflein. RCAHMW . Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  8. ↑ Electricity Commissioners (1947). Generation of Electricity in Great Britain year ended 31 December 1946. London: HMSO. p. 7.
  9. ↑ "Electricity Act 1947". legislation.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 2020-06-12.
  10. ↑ Electricity Council (1987). Electricity supply in the United Kingdom: a Chronology. London: Electricity Council. pp. 45, 60, 69, 73. ISBN   085188105X.
  11. ↑ CEGB Annual report and Accounts, 1961, 1962 & 1963
  12. ↑ CEGB Statistical Yearbook, 1967
  13. ↑ The power station is mentioned in the CEGB Statistical Yearbook 1967 but not in the 1972 edition
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