Portobello Power Station | |
---|---|
General information | |
Location | Portobello, Edinburgh |
Opened | 1923 |
Demolished | 1980 |
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] Although originally intended to be built in 1913, its construction was delayed because of the First World War, and it was formally opened by George V ten years later. [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]
In 1938 the design of the station was extended by Edinburgh architect Ebenezer MacRae; its six individual chimneys were replaced with a single 365 feet tall stack, [4] which weighed 10,000 tons, was made up of 710,000 bricks [5] and cost in the region of £118,000 to build. [1] [6]
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, [7] 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. [8]
The power station closed on 31 March 1977 [9] 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. [10]
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. [11] This never happened and in 2016 the broken coat of arms was located in a council storage facility in the west of Edinburgh. [12]
Battersea Power Station is a decommissioned Grade II* listed coal-fired power station, located on the south bank of the River Thames, in Nine Elms, Battersea, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It was built by the London Power Company (LPC) to the design of Leonard Pearce, Engineer in Chief to the LPC, and CS Allott & Son Engineers. The architects were J. Theo Halliday and Giles Gilbert Scott. The station is one of the world's largest brick buildings and notable for its original, Art Deco interior fittings and decor.
Portobello is a coastal suburb of Edinburgh in eastern central Scotland. It lies 3 miles (5 km) east of the city centre, facing the Firth of Forth, between the suburbs of Joppa and Craigentinny. Although historically it was a town in its own right, it is officially a residential suburb of Edinburgh. The promenade fronts onto a wide sandy beach.
Inverkip power station was an oil-fired power station in Inverclyde, on the west coast of Scotland. It was closer to Wemyss Bay than Inverkip, and dominated the local area with its 236 m (774 ft) chimney, the third tallest chimney in the UK and Scotland's tallest free-standing structure. In common with other power stations in Scotland it lacked cooling towers; instead, sea water was used as a coolant. The station consisted of three generating units with a combined total rating of 2028 megawatts (MW).
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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.
Didcot power station is an active natural gas power plant that supplies the National Grid. A combined coal and oil power plant, Didcot A, was the first station on the site which opened in 1970 and was demolished between 2014 and 2020. The power station is situated in Sutton Courtenay, near Didcot in Oxfordshire, England. Additionally Didcot OCGT is a gas-oil power plant, originally part of Didcot A and now independent that continues to provide emergency backup power for the National Grid.
Fawley Power Station was an oil-fired power station located on the western side of Southampton Water, between the villages of Fawley and Calshot in Hampshire, England. Its 198-metre (650 ft) chimney was a prominent landmark, but it was not, as is sometimes claimed, the highest point in Hampshire.
Grain Power Station is a CCGT power station and former oil-fired power station in Kent, England, with operational capacity of 1,275 megawatts (1,710,000 hp) 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.
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The Stella power stations were a pair of now-demolished coal-fired power stations in the North East of England that were a landmark in the Tyne valley for over 40 years. The stations stood on either side of a bend of the River Tyne: Stella South power station, the larger, near Blaydon in Gateshead, and Stella North power station near Lemington in Newcastle. Their name originated from the nearby Stella Hall, a manor house close to Stella South that by the time of their construction had been demolished and replaced by a housing estate. They operated from shortly after the nationalisation of the British electrical supply industry until two years after the Electricity Act of 1989, when the industry passed into the private sector.
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Blyth Power Station refers to a pair of now demolished coal-fired power stations, which were located on the Northumberland coast in North East England. The two stations were built alongside each other on a site near Cambois in Northumberland, on the northern bank of the River Blyth, between its tidal estuary and the North Sea. The stations took their name from the town of Blyth on the opposite bank of the estuary. Blyth A Power Station was built and opened first but had a smaller generating capacity than its sister station, Blyth B Power Station, which was built to its west four years later. The power stations' four large chimneys were a landmark of the Northumberland skyline for over 40 years; the A Station's two chimneys each stood at 140 metres (460 ft); the B Station's two chimneys were taller, at 170 metres (560 ft) each.
Chadderton Power Station refers to a series of two coal-fired power stations, which were situated at Chadderton, Greater Manchester in North West England.
Meaford Power Station was a coal-fired power station situated on the River Trent at Meaford near Stone in Staffordshire.
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.
Portobello Pier was a pleasure pier opened in Portobello, Edinburgh, Scotland. Designed by Thomas Bouch, it was 1,250 feet (380 m) long and 22 feet wide, and included a tea room, camera obscura, and a concert hall. The final construction costs were £10,000.
Portobello Library is a public library in Portobello, Edinburgh, Scotland.
The George Cinema is a former Art Deco cinema on Bath Street in Portobello, Edinburgh. The building opened in 1939 as the County Cinema. For many years a bingo hall, it is a Category C listed building.