Greenhill power station

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Greenhill power station
Greenhill power station
Country England
Location Oldham
Coordinates 53°32′21″N02°06′22″W / 53.53917°N 2.10611°W / 53.53917; -2.10611
StatusDecommissioned and demolished
Commission date 1921
Decommission date1960
OwnersOldham Corporation
(1894–1948)
British Electricity Authority
(1948–1955)
Central Electricity Authority
(1955–1957)
Central Electricity Generating Board
(1958–1960)
OperatorAs owner
Thermal power station
Primary fuelCoal
Turbine technologySteam turbines
Cooling towers5
Cooling sourceCirculating cooling water
Power generation
Units operational2 x 6.6 MW, 1 x 4 MW
Make and modelMetropolitan-Vickers
Nameplate capacity 17.2 MW
Annual net output 23.12 GWh (1946)
[ edit on Wikidata]

Greenhill power station supplied electricity to the town of Oldham, England and the surrounding area from 1921 to 1960. It replaced the older Rhodes Bank generating station and was superseded by Chadderton B power station. Greenhill power station was owned and operated by Oldham Corporation until the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948. The power station was built over the period 1921–24 and was decommissioned in 1960.

Contents

History

In 1890 Oldham Corporation applied for a provisional order under the Electric Lighting Acts to generate and supply electricity to the town. The Oldham Electric Lighting Order 1890 was granted by the Board of Trade and was confirmed by Parliament through the Electric Lighting Orders Confirmation (No. 3) Act 1890 (54 & 55 Vict. c. clxxxviii). [1] The power station was built in Gas Street at Rhodes Bank (53°32'24"N 2°06'22"W) [2] and first supplied electricity on 20 March 1894. [3]

Following the First World War the demand for electricity was outpacing the available supply. Oldham Corporation built Greenhill power station adjacent to the railway in Churchill Street East ( 53°32′21″N2°06′12″W / 53.53917°N 2.10333°W / 53.53917; -2.10333 ). [2] Greenhill station was first commissioned in 1921 with further generating sets commissioned in 1923 and 1924. In addition Oldham Corporation built another electricity generating station at Slacks Valley known as Chadderton power station which was first commissioned in November 1929.

Equipment specification

Rhodes Bank plant 1898

The original plant at Rhodes Bank power station comprised Willans engines and Charlesworth Hall and Siemens dynamos. [3] To maintain supplies at times of peak demand Crompton-Howell and EPS accumulators were provided. Electricity supplies commenced on 20 March 1894. In 1898 the generating capacity was 657 kW and the maximum load was 413 kW. By 1898 9,330 yards (8,530 m) of electricity mains had been laid. [3] In 1909 440kW of plant was moved to Greenhill and the station was closed down. [4]

Greenhill plant 1923

This station was opened in 1902 initially with a capacity of 3,700 kW. [4]

In 1923 the generating plant at Greenhill power station comprised: [5]

These machines gave a total output of 20,000 kW of alternating current. [5]

By 1929 capacity had reached 32,000 kW.

A variety of electricity supplies were available to consumers:

Greenhill plant 1954–1958

In 1954 the plant at Greenhill power station comprised: [6]

The boilers had a total evaporative capacity of 145,000 lb/h (18.3 kg/s), steam conditions were 200 psi and 650 °F (13.8 bar, 343 °C), [6] which was supplied to:

The installed capacity was 17.2 MW with an output capacity of 10 MW.

There were also:

Condenser cooling water was cooled in five Premier chimney type cooling towers with a capacity of 1.36 million gallons per hour (1.7 m3/s). [6]

Operations

Rhodes Bank operations 1898

In 1898 and there were 213 customers supplied with a total of 305,859 kWh of electricity plus 16,444 kWh for public lighting. The sale of electricity provided revenue of £5,862 for Oldham Corporation against a generating cost of £1,486. [3]

Greenhill operations 1921–23

The operating data for the period 1921–23 was: [5]

Greenhill power station operating data 1921–23
Electricity UseUnitsYear
192119221923
Lighting and domesticMWh2,8793,1623,823
Public lightingMWh8390166
TractionMWh4,2254,6694,943
PowerMWh11,15314,32520,901
Total useMWh18,34022,24629,832
Load and connected load
Maximum loadkW10,99614,18716,260
Total connectionskW16,55519,98521,387
Load factorPer cent24.322.025.7
Financial
Revenue from sales of current£–166,87529,833
Surplus of revenue over expenses£–52,27194,597

Under the terms of the Electricity (Supply) Act 1926 (16 & 17 Geo. 5. c. 51) [7] the Central Electricity Board (CEB) was established in 1926. [8] The CEB identified high efficiency 'selected' power stations that would supply electricity most effectively; Greenhill was designated a selected station. The CEB also constructed the National Grid (1927–33) to connect power stations within a region. Oldham Greenhill became part of one of the three grid rings in Lancashire. This local ring connected Oldham, Manchester, Tame Valley and Stockport. [9]

Greenhill operations 1946

Greenhill power station operating data for 1946 is given below, data for Chadderton power station is shown for comparison: [10]

Greenhill and Chadderton power station operating data, 1946
StationLoad factor per centMax output load MWElectricity supplied GWhThermal efficiency per cent
Greenhill27.821,04023.11912.02
Chadderton32.039,95997,91017.14

Nationalisation

The British electricity supply industry was nationalised in 1948 under the provisions of the Electricity Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. 6. c. 54). [11] The Oldham electricity undertaking was abolished, ownership of Greenhill power station was vested in the British Electricity Authority, and subsequently the Central Electricity Authority and the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB). [8] At the same time the electricity distribution and sales responsibilities of the Oldham electricity undertaking were transferred to the North Western Electricity Board (NORWEB).

Greenhill operations 1954–58

Operating data for the period 1954–58 was: [6]

Greenhill power station operating data, 1954–58
YearRunning hoursMax output capacity  MWElectricity supplied GWhThermal efficiency per cent
195427291521.81811.19
195525941518.56611.13
195619771515.87411.528
195725331016.42411.074
195822951012.32710.809

Oldham electricity supply district

The Oldham electricity supply district, covered an area of 29 square miles (75 square kilometres) and included the County Borough of Oldham, the borough of Middleton, and the districts of Chadderton, Crompton, Lees, and Royton. It served a population of 215,800 (1958). The number of consumers and electricity sold was: [6]

Year195619571958
Number of consumers80,34882,00183,476
Electricity sold MWh287,017313,355340,341

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

Type of consumerNo. of consumersElectricity sold MWh
Residential74,90992,706
Shops, offices, etc.4,13923,306
Combined premises3,08610,407
Factories1,116209,539
Farms2201,109
Public lighting63,274
Total83,476340,341

There were 747 miles (1,202 km) of high voltage mains in the district comprising 728 miles (1,172 km) of underground mains and 19 miles (31 km) of overhead cables. [6]

Closure

Greenhill power station was decommissioned in 1960. [12] The buildings were subsequently demolished although a working substation remains on the site.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Local Acts 1890". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 Ordnance Survey 25-inch England Lancashire XCVIII.6 (Oldham; Royton) published 1922.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Garcke, Emile (1898). Manual of Electrical Undertakings 1898-99 vol. 3. London: P. S. King and Son. pp. 276–78.
  4. 1 2 The Electrical Review 1929-11-01: Vol 105 Iss 2710. Internet Archive. St. John Patrick Publishers. 1929-11-01.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. 1 2 3 Electricity Commissioners (1925). Electricity Supply – 1920–23. London: HMSO. pp. 70–73, 308–313.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Garrett, Frederick (1959). Garcke's Manual of Electricity Supply vol. 56. London: Electrical Press. pp. A-58, A-121, B-213.
  7. ↑ "Electricity (Supply) Act 1926". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  8. 1 2 Electricity Council (1987). Electricity supply in the United Kingdom: a Chronology. London: Electricity Council. pp. 45, 60, 69, 73. ISBN   085188105X.
  9. ↑ Hannah, Leslie (1979). Electricity before Nationalisation. London: Macmillan. p. 121. ISBN   0333220862.
  10. ↑ Electricity Commissioners (1947). Generation of Electricity in Great Britain year ended 31 December 1946. London: HMSO. p. 12.
  11. ↑ "Electricity Act 1947". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  12. ↑ Greenhill power station is not mentioned in CEGB Annual reports 1961-63
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