Portobello Power Station

Portobello Power Station
The original gate of Portobello Power Station
Country	Scotland
Location	Portobello, Edinburgh
Coordinates	55°57′22″N3°07′12″W / 55.9562°N 3.1199°W / 55.9562; -3.1199
Status	Decommissioned and demolished
Commission date	1923
Decommission date	1977
Thermal power station
Primary fuel	Coal
External links
Commons	Related media on Commons

Portobello Power Station was a coal-fired power station in Portobello, Edinburgh which was built in 1923 by the Edinburgh Corporation in order to cope with the increasing demand for electricity in the city. ^[1]

History

Although originally intended to be built in 1913, its construction was delayed because of the First World War, and it was formally opened by King George V 10 years later in July 1923. ^{[2] [3]} Its electricity was used to power Edinburgh and the surrounding region while waste heat warmed the water of Portobello Open Air Pool. ^[1] At that time the turbine room contained three 12,500 kW turbines fed by six tri-drum water-tube boilers with integral superheaters and superposed economisers, each designed for a maximum continuous capacity of 80,000 lb. of steam per hour. In 1925 the plant was supplemented by a further 12,500 kW turbine. In 1927 two Brown Boveri 31,250MW turbines were added. These were accommodated in extensions to the 1923 building and also include eight more boilers. ^[4]

In 1938 the design of the station was extended by Edinburgh architect Ebenezer James MacRae; its six individual chimneys were replaced with a single 365 feet tall stack, ^[5] which weighed 10,000 tons, was made up of 710,000 bricks ^[6] and cost in the region of £118,000 to build. ^{[1] [7]}

Between 1952 and 1955, the power station achieved the highest thermal efficiency of any station in the UK, with peak output of around 279 megawatts, ^[8] although an explosion in February 1953 led to a two-hour power blackout across Edinburgh. The explosion, which could be heard a mile away, was caused by sea spray collecting on high-voltage insulators in the main-grid substation. ^[9]

The power station closed on 31 March 1977 ^[10] and demolished in 1980; a new housing estate was built on the site. ^[1] During demolition, the chimney had to be taken down brick by brick because of its proximity to nearby houses. ^[11]

The Portobello coat-of-arms on the power station was rescued during demolition and it was planned to incorporate it into a new sports centre to be built in the area. ^[12] This never happened and in 2016 the broken coat of arms was located in a City of Edinburgh Council storage facility in the west of Edinburgh. ^[13]

References

1. "Lost Edinburgh: Portobello Power Station" . Retrieved 14 April 2018.
2. "Remember When: Portobello Power Station's power and glory" . Retrieved 14 April 2018.
3. Portobello Power Station. British Electrical Authority S.E. Scotland Division. 1950. p. 2.
4. The Engineer 1930-05-09: Vol 149 Iss 3878. Internet Archive. 9 May 1930.
5. The giant lost Edinburgh power station that once dominated the city skyline, Edinburgh Live, 8 February 2022
6. "Some 'Lum!'". Edinburgh Evening News. 23 September 1948.
7. "Edinburgh's great new landmark". The Evening News. January 1954.
8. "City landmark bows out with a bang". The Scotsman. 18 December 1978.
9. "2-hour black-out in Edinburgh". The Scotsman. 14 February 1953.
10. "A pile of rubble that was once a landmark". Evening News. 17 July 1980.
11. "Brick by Brick". The Evening News. 11 May 1978.
12. "Coat of Arms". Portobello Reporter. February 1991.
13. "Calls to restore city coat of arms torn down from Portobello power station". www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com. 8 June 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2019.

External links

• Edinburgh, Portobello High Street, Electricity Generating Station at Canmore.org.uk