A thermal power station is a type of power station in which heat energy is converted to electrical energy. In a steam-generating cycle heat is used to boil water in a large pressure vessel to produce high-pressure steam, which drives a steam turbine connected to an electrical generator. The low-pressure exhaust from the turbine enters a steam condenser where it is cooled to produce hot condensate which is recycled to the heating process to generate more high pressure steam. This is known as a Rankine cycle.
Cockenzie power station was a coal-fired power station in East Lothian, Scotland. It was situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, near the town of Cockenzie and Port Seton, 8 mi (13 km) east of the Scottish capital of Edinburgh. The station dominated the local coastline with its distinctive twin chimneys from 1967 until the chimneys' demolition in September 2015. Initially operated by the nationalised South of Scotland Electricity Board, it was operated by Scottish Power following the privatisation of the industry in 1991. In 2005 a WWF report named Cockenzie as the UK's least carbon-efficient power station, in terms of carbon dioxide released per unit of energy generated.
Longannet power station was a large coal-fired power station in Fife, and the last coal-fired power station in Scotland. It was capable of co-firing biomass, natural gas and sludge. The station stood on the north bank of the Firth of Forth, near Kincardine on Forth.
Wilford power station was a coal-fired electricity generating station situated on the north bank of the River Trent, at Nottingham in the East Midlands.
Cottam power station is a decommissioned coal-fired power station. The site extends over 620 acres (250 ha) of mainly arable land and is situated at the eastern edge of Nottinghamshire on the west bank of the River Trent at Cottam near Retford. The larger coal-fired station, was decommissioned by EDF Energy in 2019 in line with the UK's goal to meet its zero-coal power generation by 2025. The smaller in-use station is Cottam Development Centre, a combined cycle gas turbine plant commissioned in 1999, with a generating capacity of 440 MW. This plant is owned by Uniper.
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.
The New Plymouth Power Station (NPPS) was a 600 MW thermal power station at New Plymouth, New Zealand. Located at Port Taranaki, it was dual fuelled on natural gas and fuel oil. Constructed at a time of major hydro and HV transmission developments, it was New Zealand's first big thermal power station planned for continuous base load operation.
The West Burton power stations are a pair of power stations on the River Trent near Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. West Burton A was a coal-fired power station, which was commissioned in 1966 and operated until 2023, and West Burton B is a combined cycle gas turbine power station, commissioned in 2013. West Burton A is owned by EDF Energy, while West Burton B is owned and operated by EIG Global Energy Partners.
The Tilbury power stations were two thermal power stations on the north bank of the River Thames at Tilbury in Essex. The 360 MW dual coal- and oil-fired Tilbury A Power Station operated from 1956 until 1981 when it was mothballed, prior to demolition in 1999. The 1,428 MW Tilbury B Power Station operated between 1968 and 2013 and was fueled by coal, as well as co-firing with oil and, from 2011, biomass. Tilbury B was demolished in 2016–19. Since 2013 three other power stations have been proposed or constructed in Tilbury.
High Marnham Power Station was a coal fuelled power station in Nottinghamshire, to the west of the River Trent, approximately 0.5 miles (0.8 km) north of the village of Marnham. Construction site clearance began in November 1955, No. 1 Unit power generation commenced in October 1959, and the station became fully operational in June 1962. The plant operated until 2003 when it was decommissioned, though the cooling towers weren't demolished until 2012.
Acton Lane Power Station was a power station in London NW10. The station, also known as Willesden power station, was located to the south of the Euston to Birmingham railway on a site bounded by Acton Lane, the Grand Union Canal and the Dudding Hill railway line. In later years the site was extended to the south side of the canal. The entire site is now occupied by Willesden Grid Supply Point buildings.
Hackney Power Station was a coal-fired power station situated at Lea Bridge on the River Lee Navigation in London.
Northfleet Power Station was a coal-fired, later oil-fired, power station on the south bank of the Thames at Northfleet, Kent. Opened in 1963, it was converted to burn oil in 1972, and closed in 1991.
The West Springfield Generating Station, also known by its corporate name EP Energy Massachusetts, LLC, was a fossil-fuel-fired power plant located in West Springfield, Massachusetts. The station was a "peaking" facility, meaning that it primarily operates during peak electrical demand. The facility consisted of two 49-megawatt (MW) combustion turbine generators fueled by natural gas or ultra low-sulphur diesel fuel, one 18 MW jet turbine that was fueled by kerosene, and one 107 MW simple-cycle steam boiler unit burning no. 6 fuel oil, ULSD or natural gas. The station also had a small auxiliary boiler for process and building heat and an emergency back-up generator.
Skelton Grange Power Station refers to two now-demolished coal fired power stations that served the city of Leeds and surrounding areas. They were located in the Stourton area of the city. The power stations were built in the early 1950s and early 1960s, taken out of use in 1983 and 1994 and subsequently dismantled but the associated 275 kV switching substation was retained and remains in use.
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.
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.
Carlisle power stations were two electricity generating stations that supplied electricity to Carlisle and the surrounding area from 1899 until 1980. The first power station (1899–1927) was in the centre of the city near Nelson Bridge, and the second larger station was at Willow Holme North-West of the city (1923–1980).
The Lancaster power stations provided electricity to the Lancashire town and city of Lancaster and the surrounding area from 1894 to 1976. The first power station was built and operated by Lancaster Corporation and started generating electricity in April 1894. The second power station was built during the First World War near the Lune Aqueduct to provide electric power for a munitions factory. When the factory closed after the war the power station was purchased by the corporation to provide electric power throughout its supply area.
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.
