Bold Power Station

Bold Power Station refers to a series of two coal-fired power stations in Bold near St Helens, Merseyside, North West England. They are now closed.

Bold Power Stations
CountryUK
LocationSt Helens, Merseyside
Coordinates53.4340°N 2.6883°W / 53.4340; -2.6883
StatusDecommissioned and demolished
Commission dateB: November 1958
Decommission dateA: 31 October 1981 B: 1989
Owner(s)Central Electricity Generating Board
National Power
Operator(s)As owner
Thermal power station
Primary fuelCoal
Turbine technologySteam
ChimneysA: 2 B: 1
Cooling towersA: ? B: 3
Cooling sourceCooling towers
Power generation
Units operationalA: 4 × 32 MW B: 3 × 60 MW
Make and modelA: Metropolitan-Vickers and Associated Electrical Industries B: General Electric Company
Annual net outputA: 272.4 GWh (1971–2) B: 500 GWh (1971–2)

History

Bold A and B Power Stations were coal fired, with a direct coal conveyor belt link from a washery at the colliery. This fed either directly to coal bunkers in both stations or to a stocking area. The extensive rail sidings were utilised for coal delivery, either from Bold Colliery or from other collieries via the main Liverpool to Manchester Lines. The coal from Bold Colliery was deep mined and therefore costly to recover. In later years, due to commercial reasons, the main coal supply became mostly by road from either Yorkshire or Scotland.

The 'A' power station had an installed capacity of 120 MW. It consisted of four 30 MW two-cylinder turbines/alternators manufactured by Metropolitan-Vickers and Associated Electrical Industries (AEI). No.3 M/C was installed with the first direct water-cooled alternator. Steam was supplied from four Yarrow & Co. coal-fired boilers with tangentially fired tilting pulverized fuel burners, with 3no type LM13 table mills made by International Combustion of Derby.

The 'B' power station was installed with three 60 MW machines (equalling 180 MW total capacity). It used a central unit control system with the turbine/hydrogen cooled alternators manufactured by the General Electric Company (GEC). As with 'A' power station, no.3 alternator was a prototype direct water-cooled machine. The coolant water was fed via glass tubes on the three-phase connections. Each unit had boilers manufactured by John Thompson of Wolverhampton, each using two suction ball mills each with two exhausters, these feeding to twelve front wall pulverized fuel burners. The boilers were rated at 69 kg/s and fed steam at 900 psi/900 degrees Fahrenheit (62.06 bar and 482°C) directly to each turbine/alternator.

The electricity output from Bold A was as follows:[1][2]

Bold A electricity output 1955–79, GWh
Year 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1961 1962 1963 1972 1979
Station output, GWh 20.30 174.796 352.722 344.673 551.88 525.0 508.9 722.1 272.41 157.78
Thermal efficiency, % 23.16 25.61 26.59 26.46 26.52 25.96 25.45 25.60 22.67 22.75


The electricity output from Bold B was as follows:[3][4][2]

Bold B electricity output 1961–82, GWh
Year 1961 1962 1963 1972 1979 1982
Station output, GWh 935.22 846.5 971.4 499.825 639.851 600.314
Load factor, % 63.6 57.5 66.01 33.9 43.5 40.8
Thermal efficiency, % 28.41 28.54 28.50 26.07 639.851 27.99

The Bold area was the site of Bold Colliery, with Bold A and B Power Stations on adjacent land. These power stations had a total electricity generating capacity of 300 megawatts (MW). At the time of completion, between 1958 and 1960, they were the largest such generating facility in the north west. Bold "A" Station closed on 26 October 1981. Bold "B" continued to run until the late 80's after it was privatised from the Central Electricity Generating Board to National Power. The colliery and power stations are now closed, with the latter site redeveloped for housing and the creation of public open spaces.[5] Other industry in the area included a large engineering works which is now an industrial estate.

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References
  1. Garcke’s Manual of Electricity Supply vol. 57, 1960, p. A-109
  2. GEGB Annual report and accounts, various years
  3. CEGB (1972). CEGB Statistical Yearbook 1972. London: CEGB. p. 17.
  4. CEGB (1982). CEGB Statistical Yearbook 1981–82. London: CEGB. p. 8. ISBN 0902543695.
  5. "Bold Power Station: St Helens". VHE Group. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 4 December 2008.
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