Mexborough Power Station

Last updated

Mexborough Power Station
Mexborough Power Station
Country England
Location South Yorkshire, Yorkshire and the Humber
Coordinates 53°29′37″N1°15′49″W / 53.493734°N 1.26359°W / 53.493734; -1.26359
StatusDecommissioned and demolished
Construction began1943
Commission date 1945
Decommission dateOctober 1981
Owner(s)Yorkshire Electric Power Company
(1939–1948)
British Electricity Authority
(1948–1955)
Central Electricity Authority
(1955–1957)
Central Electricity Generating Board
(1958–1981)
Operator(s)As owner
Thermal power station
Primary fuel Coal
Chimneys4
Cooling towers2
Power generation
Units operational4 × 30 MW
Units decommissionedAll
Nameplate capacity 120 MW
Annual net output 318 GWh (1972)

grid reference SK488999

Mexborough Power Station was a coal-fired power station situated on the banks of the River Don, on the border of Mexborough and Denaby, adjoining Doncaster Road, in South Yorkshire, England.

Contents

History

The plant was planned by the Yorkshire Electric Power Company in 1939 but construction was delayed by the war. The station became operational in 1945. [1]

Plant

The site housed four English Electric generating sets of approximately 30 MW each, giving the station a total generating capacity of 120 megawatts (MW). Two of the sets were installed in January to September 1945 and generated at 10.5 kV, and the other two were installed in July to September 1957 and generated at 11.8 kV. [2]

There were four Mitchell stoker-fired boilers and four Richardson Westgarth boilers. [2] The boilers had the combined capacity to produce 1,260,000 lb/h (158.8 kg/s) of steam at 600 psi (41.4 bar) and 454 °C. [3]

There were four substantial chimneys giving this local landmark its distinctive appearance.

There were two Mitchell cooling towers with a total capacity of 2.68 million gallons per hour (12.2 million litres per hour). Make up condensing water was abstracted from the river. [2]

The electricity generating capacity and output of the power station is shown in the table. [2] [3] [4] [5]

Mexborough electricity capacity, output and efficiency
Year194619471948195019541955195619571958196119621963196719711979
Installed capacity, MW59.960.8575757575757113120120120120120120
Electricity output, GWh315.725322.345365.263319.857253.330225.878188.909251.654352.217495.882409.275394.316327.81317.94125.59
Thermal efficiency, %24.8325.4025.4225.3823.9323.7323.2522.7423.8522.6221.9421.8521.8621.0217.01
Running hours8782873975437600548668127539

Closure

The power station closed on 26 October 1981, with a generating capacity of 113 MW. [6] The station was demolished in 1988. The demolition of the station sparked local interest when one of the giant chimneys was toppled accidentally and fell across the site, prematurely demolishing much of it. Contamination at the site was a concern. [7]

The site today

The site today is the Shimmer housing estate, areas of which were proposed to be demolished to make way for a 62 feet (19 m) high viaduct as part of a new railway infrastructure dubbed HS2, which was intended to make commuting times to London faster. Many homes were purchased by HS2 with residents being left in negative equity. [8] [9] [10] [11] However, in November 2021 it was confirmed by the Government that the 'Eastern Leg' of HS2 would not be constructed, with the line terminating at East Midlands Parkway, ultimately meaning that the compulsory purchasing of homes on the Shimmer estate was not required. [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ironbridge power stations</span> Two former power stations in Shropshire, England

The Ironbridge power stations refers to a series of two power stations that occupied a site on the banks of the River Severn at Buildwas in Shropshire, England. The Ironbridge B Power Station was operated by E.ON UK but the site is now owned by Haworth Group. The station stands near the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site. Originally powered by coal, they were converted to use 100% biomass fuel. Ironbridge B Power Station stopped generating electricity on 20 November 2015, with the decommissioning process continuing into 2017. The main phase of the 27-month demolition process began at 11:00 GMT on 6 December 2019, commencing with the four cooling towers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ferrybridge power stations</span> Three coal-fired power stations in West Yorkshire, England

The Ferrybridge power stations were a series of three coal-fired power stations on the River Aire near Ferrybridge in West Yorkshire, England, in operation from 1927 to 2016 on a site next to the junction of the M62 and A1(M) motorways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drakelow Power Station</span> Series of power stations in England

Drakelow Power Station refers to a series of three now decommissioned and demolished coal-fired power stations located 2.4 mi (3.9 km) south of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire in the West Midlands of England, on the River Trent. However, the station was actually located in the county of Derbyshire, in the East Midlands. The power station was a distinguishable landmark of Burton, which is most famous for its breweries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portishead power station</span> Series of two coal and oil-fired power stations

Portishead Power Station refers to a series of two coal and oil-fired power stations which operated in the dock area of Portishead in Somerset, South West England, between 1929 and 1982.

Rotherham power station was a coal-fired power station sited close to the centre of Rotherham in South Yorkshire.

The Rugeley power stations were a series of two coal-fired power stations located on the River Trent at Rugeley in Staffordshire. The first power station on the site, Rugeley A power station was opened in 1961, but has since been closed and demolished. Rugeley B power station was commissioned in 1970, and closed on 8 June 2016. The cooling towers of which were demolished on 6 June 2021. It had an output of 1,000 megawatts (MW) and had a 400 kilovolt (kV) connection to the national grid. The B station provided enough electricity to power roughly half a million homes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tilbury power stations</span> Thermal power stations in Essex, England

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.

<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">Hams Hall power stations</span> Series of now demolished coal-fired power stations

Hams Hall Power Station refers to a series of three, now demolished coal-fired power stations, situated in Warwickshire in the West Midlands of England, 9 miles (14 km) from Birmingham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chadderton Power Station</span> Series of two coal-fired power stations

Chadderton Power Station refers to a series of two coal-fired power stations, which were situated at Chadderton, Greater Manchester in North West England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doncaster Power Station</span>

Doncaster Power Station refers to two coal-fired electricity generating stations situated in the centre of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. Doncaster A provided electricity to the town from 1900 to 1958, and the B station from 1953 to 1983.

Meaford Power Station was a coal-fired power station situated on the River Trent at Meaford near Stone in Staffordshire.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wakefield power station</span> Series of two former coal-fired power stations

The Wakefield power stations refers to a series of two coal-fired power stations situated on the River Calder at Agbrigg south east of Wakefield, serving much of West Yorkshire. The first station on the site, Wakefield A power station was constructed for Wakefield Corporation in the late-1880s. A second station, Wakefield B power station, was brought into operation in the late-1940s and was decommissioned in 1991.

<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">Skelton Grange power station</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poole Power Station</span> Former power station in England

Poole Power Station was a coal-fired power station located in Hamworthy, Poole, in Dorset. Its 325 ft tall twin chimneys were prominent landmarks and it was the tallest building in Dorset until its partial demolition in 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huncoat Power Station</span> Former electricity generating station

Huncoat Power Station was located in Huncoat near Accrington, Lancashire. It was a 150 MW, coal-fired, electricity generating station in operation from 1952 to 1984. It has since been demolished. Huncoat power station replaced the earlier Accrington power station that had supplied electricity to the town since 1900.

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.

The Thornhill power station generated and supplied electricity to the town of Dewsbury and the wider regional area from 1902 to 1982, and again from 1998. The first generating station on the site was owned and operated by the Yorkshire Electric Power Company. Following nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948 Thornhill power station was operated by a succession of state owned bodies. The power station was redeveloped with new plant in 1915, 1925, 1932–37 and 1950–54. The coal-fired steam station was decommissioned in 1982, and was subsequently demolished. A gas turbine power station on the site was commissioned in 1998.

References

  1. "Nostalgia on Tuesday: Towering presence". Yorkshire Post. 19 June 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Garrett, Frederick C., ed. (1959). Garcke's Manual of Electricity Supply vol.56. London: Electrical Press. pp. A-77, A-128.
  3. 1 2 CEGB (1972). CEGB Statistical Yearbook 1972. London: CEGB. p. 15.
  4. CEGB Annual report and Accounts, 1961, 1962 & 1963
  5. Electricity Commission, Generation of Electricity in Great Britain year ended 31st December 1946. London: HMSO, 1947.
  6. Mr. Redmond (16 January 1984). "Coal-fired Power Stations". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  7. "Homes plan for power station site thrown out". South Yorkshire Times. 29 October 2007. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  8. "Fury after new HS2 report reveals 'more Doncaster homes and green spaces' are set for the bulldozer". Doncaster Free Press. 17 October 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  9. Pidd, Helen (18 July 2017). "People on estate facing demolition for HS2 could struggle to find new homes". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  10. Hughes, Laura (17 July 2017). "HS2 track plans: Brand-new homes to be bulldozed as final plans are revealed". The Telegraph. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  11. Burn, Chris (19 October 2018). "'HS2 have blatantly lied to us': Anger as demolition numbers for housing estate treble" . infoweb.newsbank.com. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  12. "Can we have our home back? HS2 U-turn leaves uprooted family reeling". The Guardian. 18 November 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2022.