Kearsley Power Station

Last updated

Kearsley Power Station
Kearsley power station.tif
Kearsley Power Station
Kearsley Power Station
CountryEngland
Location Greater Manchester
Coordinates 53°32′22″N2°21′33″W / 53.53944°N 2.35917°W / 53.53944; -2.35917
StatusDecommissioned and demolished
Commission date 1929
Decommission date1980
Operator(s) Lancashire Electric Power Company
(1929–1948)
British Electricity Authority
(1948–1955)
Central Electricity Authority
(1955–1957)
Central Electricity Generating Board
(1948–1981)
Thermal power station
Primary fuel Coal
Cooling towers5
Cooling sourceCirculating water cooling towers
Power generation
Units operational2 × 52 MW, 2 ×51.66 MW (1971)
Units decommissionedAll decommissioned
Annual net output 294.949 GWh (1971)
External links
Commons Related media on Commons
[ edit on Wikidata]

grid reference SD763047

Kearsley Power Station was a coal-fired power station in Stoneclough, near Kearsley, Bolton, England. It was designed in 1927 by Dr H.F. Parshall for the Lancashire Electric Power Company. [1] The original installation was known as Kearsley 'A', comprising two British Thomson-Houston (B.T.H.) turbo-alternators rated at 32.25 megawatts each. Further extensions became Kearsley 'B' (1936/38), with two more B.T.H. turbo-alternators each capable of producing 51.6 megawatts. Finally Kearsley 'C' (1949) was completed with two more B.T.H. machines rated at 52 megawatts each. The station closed in 1980 when only 'B' station remained operational. The 5 cooling towers were demolished during the week of 14 May 1985.

Contents

History

The power station opened in 1929 by the Earl of Derby, was to become highly regarded within the industry due to its excellent record of thermal efficiency. The power station went on to set new records for low coal consumption in relation to power output. Due to increased power demands there were a further two extensions made to the site in 1936 and 1949, one of which was a new cooling tower reported at the time to be the tallest in the world. [2] The 1936 extension was attended by the Earl of Derby, son of the original Earl of Derby who had opened the company's Radcliffe Power Station 31 years previously. [2]

Originally 'A' Station had four cast iron chimneys but these were replaced by two brick built stacks, each 275 feet high. The later 'B' and 'C' stations each had two brick chimneys of 325 feet high. When completed the adjoining boiler houses totalled 255 yards and the entire buildings and chimneys used several million bricks. It is estimated that the six chimneys alone used at least 8 million bricks.

By 1937 the station supplied a maximum load of 101,800 kW of electricity. [2]

When completed in 1949 there were 24 coal burning boilers at Kearsley Power Station, [3] each separate station had eight boilers with six or seven boilers needed to operate each station on full load. There was always spare boiler capacity; the original operators the Lancashire Electric Power Company learning from its experiences at Padiham Power Station which was under boilered. Kearsley 'A' Station boilers burned 5 tons of coal each on full load, and the larger 'B' and 'C' Station boilers consumed 8 tons of coal an hour on full load. Until 1970 there were continuous improvements to the boilers and plant at Kearsley to improve efficiency and reduce running costs.

The electricity output from Kearsley LP and HP power stations was: [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

Electricity sent out, GWh
YearLP station output GWhHP station output GWh
1946933.52
1953/4102.211106.26
1954/592.98873.26
1955/663.465.42
1956/766.80824.56
1957/874.32590.24
1960/1700.366
1961/2707.587
1962/3746.484
1966/7793.59
1971/2294.95
1978/936.97

By 1965 the power station (as stated in a CEGB advertisement) employed around 500 people and could produce enough electricity to supply the area of Farnworth and much of Bolton recorded at 272,000 kilowatts of electricity. During 1965 the original 'A' station boilers were converted from coal burning to heavy oil firing. Each of the six boilers needed to run the turbines at full load consumed 5,500 gallons of oil per hour. In 1971 the boilers had a combined steam generating capacity of 3.2 million pounds per hour (403.2 kg/s). The steam conditions were 300/600 psi (20.7/41.4 bar) and 375/427 °C. [5] The 'A' Station was mothballed after the Arab-Israeli conflict of the early 1970s that resulted in a huge increase in oil prices. In 1979 experiments were carried out at the station in burning the town of Bolton's refuse to produce electricity. [9] This was not the first occasion that the station had burned such refuse, in 1962 tobacco offal, battery cases, bathroom fittings and oil saturated clay were burnt as fuel additives in an experiment to establish their calorific value. [10]

The station closed on 27 October 1980. By this time its generating capacity had been lowered to only 96 MW. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bankside Power Station</span> Former power station in Southwark, London

Bankside Power Station is a decommissioned electricity generating station located on the south bank of the River Thames, in the Bankside area of the Borough of Southwark, London. It generated electricity from 1891 to 1981. It was also used as a training base for electrical and mechanical student apprenticeships from all over the country. Since 2000 the building has been used to house the Tate Modern art museum and gallery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Littlebrook Power Station</span> Series of four oil and coal-fired power stations in Dartford, Kent

The Littlebrook Power Station were a series of four oil and coal-fired power stations situated on the south bank of the River Thames, next to the Queen Elizabeth 2 Bridge and the Dartford Tunnel in Dartford, Kent. The final power station, Littlebrook D, ceased operating in March 2015, and has now been demolished.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shoreham Power Station</span> Gas-fired power station

Shoreham Power Station is a 420MWe combined cycle gas-fired power station in Southwick, West Sussex. It was built on the site of the Brighton B Power Station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ince Power Station</span> Two demolished power stations in England

Ince Power Station refers to two demolished power stations near Ellesmere Port in Cheshire, North West England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woolwich Power Station</span> Former coal-fired power station

Woolwich Power Station was a coal-fired power station on the south bank of the Thames at Woolwich.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darlington Power Station</span> British coal-fired power station

Darlington power station refers to a series of two coal-fired power stations situated in Darlington in County Durham, North East England.

Bold Power Station refers to a series of two coal-fired power stations in Bold near St Helens, Merseyside, North West England. They were closed, decommissioned and demolished between 1981 and 1992, and a housing estate now occupies the site.

Hastings Power Station was a gas turbine power station situated in Hastings in East Sussex, England. It was built on the site of the Broomgrove coal-fired power station. When the power station was completed in 1966 it had two 55-megawatt (MW) gas turbine generating sets; the first set was commissioned in January 1966 and the second two months later in March.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirkstall Power Station</span> Former coal-fired power station in Leeds, England

Kirkstall Power Station was a coal-fired unit opened in 1930, serving the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Padiham Power Station</span> Coal-fired power station in Lancashire, England

Padiham Power Station was a coal-fired power station in Padiham, east Lancashire, England, which began operation in 1926 and generated power from 1927 until it was closed in 1993.

Hayle Power Station was a coal-fired power station situated at the mouth of the River Hayle, at Hayle in Cornwall, South West England.

Carmarthen Bay Power Station was an electricity power plant on the north shore of the Burry estuary in Wales in operation from 1953 to 1984.

The two Bolton power stations supplied electric power to the town of Bolton and the wider area between 1894 and 1979. The first power station was located in Bolton town centre but by 1910 was too small to meet the growing demand for electricity. A large coal-fired power station was commissioned in 1914 situated at Back o’ th’ Bank about 1 mile north of the town centre. The electricity generating station was redeveloped several times until it was closed in 1979 and was subsequently demolished and the site redeveloped.

Ribble Power Station was a coal-fired electricity generating station on the River Ribble in Penwortham near Preston, Lancashire, England. The station was built by the Corporation of Preston to replace a small privately-run generating station in the town. It supplied electricity to Preston and the surrounding area from 1923 until 1976. The station was expanded with new equipment in 1943–47 which remained in operation until the power station was closed in 1976 and was subsequently demolished.

Blackburn power stations are a series of electricity generating stations that have provided electric power to the town of Blackburn and the wider area from 1895 to the present. The first station in Jubilee Street, Blackburn began operating in 1895. A new larger station known as Blackburn East or Whitebirk power station was commissioned in 1921 and was rebuilt in stages over the period 1942 to 1955. Whitebirk station closed in 1976. The 60 MW Blackburn Mill Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) power station has generated electricity since 2002. The Blackburn energy from waste (EfW) plant is currently (2020) being planned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leicester power station</span>

Leicester power stations are a series of electricity generating stations that have provided electric power to the City of Leicester and the wider area from 1894. The first station, located within Aylestone gas works, supplied electricity for street lighting. The city's new electric tram system was supplied from 1904 by a station at Lero which operated until 1930. A large coal-fired power station was constructed at Freemans Meadow in 1922 and was operational until 1976. Finally a gas turbine power plant was commissioned in 1976.

Bromborough power stations are three electricity generating stations that supplied power to industrial and domestic users in Bromborough, Port Sunlight and the wider Wirral area from 1918 until 1998. Bromborough power station provided public electricity supplies from 1951 to 1980. Central power station Bromborough (1918–1998) was originally owned by Lever Brothers and supplied electricity to domestic users in Port Sunlight as well as electricity and steam to industrial users. Merseyside power station Bromborough (1958–1998) was also owned by Unilever and provided electricity and steam at a range of pressures to industrial users in the locality. All three power stations at Bromborough have been demolished.

Accrington power station was a coal and refuse fired electricity generating station located in the centre of Accrington, Lancashire. The station supplied electricity to Accrington and to Haslingden and the Altham and Clayton-le-Moors areas between 1900 and 1958.

Stourport power stations were two electricity generating stations that supplied electricity to Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire and to the wider West Midlands area from 1927 to 1984. The two stations, A (1927–78) and B (1950–84), were collocated on a joint site adjacent to the River Severn south of Stourport-on-Severn.

Southport power station supplied electricity to the town of Southport and the surrounding area from 1894 to the late 1960s. The power station was built by the Southport Corporation which operated it up to the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948. Birkdale power station was operated by the Birkdale District Electric Supply Company Limited and originally supplied Birkdale Urban District until the district was incorporated into the Borough of Southport in 1911.

References

  1. ↑ "Bristol Tramways Power Stations 1895 - 1941". Marcus Palmén.
  2. 1 2 3 Lancashire Electric Light and Power. The Times newspaper, page 22. 19 February 1922.
  3. ↑ The Record Breakers Of The Lancashire Electric Power Company
  4. ↑ Garrett, Frederick C., ed. (1959). Garcke's Manual of Electricity Supply vol.56. London: Electrical Press. pp. A-124.
  5. 1 2 CEGB (1972). CEGB Statistical Yearbook 1972. London: CEGB. p. 17.
  6. ↑ CEGB (1979). CEGB Statistical Yearbook 1978-79. London: CEGB. p. 8. ISBN   0902543598.
  7. ↑ CEGB Annual report and Accounts, 1961, 1962 & 1963
  8. ↑ Electricity Commission, Generation of Electricity in Great Britain year ended 31st December 1946. London: HMSO, 1947.
  9. ↑ Entwistel, Kathryn. "17. Modern Industry: The Power Station". Kearsley Resource Pack. Bolton Environmental Education Project.
  10. ↑ Power station tests with waste products. The Times newspaper, page 15. 12 July 1962.
  11. ↑ Mr. Redmond (16 January 1984). "Coal-fired Power Stations". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . Retrieved 1 September 2009.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.