Thorpe Marsh Power Station
Thorpe Marsh Power Station was a 1 GW coal-fired power station near Barnby Dun in South Yorkshire, England. The station was built in 1959 and closed in 1994. In 2011, permission was given for the construction of a gas-fired power station on the site.
Thorpe Marsh Power Station | |
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Thorpe Marsh power station's cooling towers | |
Country | England |
Location | South Yorkshire, Yorkshire and the Humber |
Coordinates | 53.580602°N 1.08534°W |
Construction began | 1959 |
Commission date | 1963 |
Decommission date | 1994 |
Operator(s) | Central Electricity Generating Board |
Thermal power station | |
Primary fuel | Coal |
Tertiary fuel | Heavy Fuel Oil |
Power generation | |
Nameplate capacity | 1,100 MW |
External links | |
Commons | Related media on Commons |
grid reference SE605097 |
History
Construction and operation, (1959–1994)
Construction of the station began in 1959; it was built as a prototype for all the large modern power stations in the UK. It was commissioned between 1963 and 1965.[1] Thorpe Marsh was one of the CEGB’s twenty steam power stations with the highest thermal efficiency; in 1963–4 the thermal efficiency was 31.50 per cent, 32.76 per cent in 1964–5, and 33.09 per cent in 1965–6.[2]
There were 2 × 28 MW auxiliary gas turbines on the site, these had been commissioned in December 1966.[3]
The plant was officially opened in 1967.[4]
The station contained two 550 MW generating units with cross compound turbines, supplied from a single boiler. Steam was supplied at 2,300 pounds per square inch (16,000 kPa) at 1,050 °F (566 °C).[5]
The annual electricity output of Thorpe Marsh was:[2]
Year | 1963–4 | 1964–5 | 1965–6 | 1971–2 | 1978–9 | 1981–2 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Electricity supplied, GWh | 581 | 1,697 | 1,803 | 3,660 | 3,750 | 4,296 |
On 7 January 1973, four workmen died. A coroner's report gave a verdict of accidental death; subsequently the Factory Inspectorate began legal proceedings against the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) for breaches in safety provisions.[6]
After the privatisation of the CEGB in 1990, the station was operated by National Power. The station subsequently closed in 1994.[1]
Post closure (1994–)
The 45 acres (18 ha) site was acquired by Able UK in 1995.[7]
During the 2007 United Kingdom floods, the 400 kV substation at the site was temporarily shut down on 27 June, whilst the 275 kV substation was not affected; operational service was fully restored by early 28 June.[8]
In October 2011, the Department of Energy and Climate Change approved the construction of a 1,500 MW combined cycle gas turbine power station at Thorpe Marsh by Thorpe Marsh Power Limited (parent Acorn Power Developments, see Acorn Energy) with an estimated cost of £984 million.[9][10][11] Thorpe Marsh Power Limited proposed an initial capacity of 960 MW.[12] The proposed development would also require the construction of an 11-mile (18 km) gas pipeline from Camblesforth;[13] Thorpe Marsh Power Limited is expected to submit an application for the gas pipeline in late 2014.[13]
Able UK demolished the original power station's cooling towers in 2012.[14]
References
- "Generation disconnections since 1991". www.nationalgrid.com. 2003. Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
- CEGB (1966). CEGB Statistical Yearbooks 1964, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1982. London: CEGB. pp. 26, 26, 20.
- The Electricity Council (1990). Handbook of Electricity Supply Statistics. London: The Electricity Council. p. 8. ISBN 085188122X.
- "Site-Assembled Transformer". Engineering. London: Centaur Media. 203: 775. 1967. ISSN 0013-7758.
- "Electricity Supply in the UK: A chronology" (PDF). Electricity Council. c. 1987. 1963, p.87. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- Thorpe Marsh Power Station (Workmen's Deaths). Hansard – Written answers (Commons). 852. 5 March 1973. c42W.
- "Thorpe Marsh". Able UK. Archived from the original on 19 September 2008. Retrieved 26 August 2008.
- Flooding: Fifth Report of Session 2007–08. 2: Oral and Written Evidence. House of Commons. Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee. 7 May 2008. Ev 309–310, §20–33, "Memorandum Submitted by National Grid (FL 80). ISBN 978-0-215-51488-2.
- "Two power plants to create 1,000 jobs in Yorkshire". BBC News. 31 October 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
- "Thorpe Marsh may be first UK Flexefficiency application". www.modernpowersystems.com. 9 November 2011. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- "Department of Energy and Climate Change Construction and Operation of a Combined Cycle Gas Turbine Electricity Generating Station at the Thorpe Marsh, Barnby Dun, Doncaster" (PDF). www.og.decc.gov.uk. 31 October 2011. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- "Thorpe Marsh CCGT Power Station Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Statement Non-technical Summary" (PDF). Thorpe Marsh Power Limited. September 2010. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- "Thorpe Marsh Gas Pipeline". infrastructure.planningportal.gov.uk. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- "ABLE Thorpe Marsh". Able UK. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
Further reading
- Thorpe Marsh 1965. A guide to Thorpe Marsh Power Station. CEGB. 1965.
- "Thorpe Marsh". CEGB. 1967.
- Millar, John (June 1993). "The lights go out at Thorpe Marsh power station". Rail Magazine.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thorpe Marsh Power Station. |
- "Thorpe Marsh Power Ltd". thorpemarshgaspipeline.co.uk.
- "Thorpe Marsh Power Station". Hansard – House of Commons. 16 June 1993. cc968-74., parliamentary discussion on closure
- "Thorpe Marsh Final Two Cooling Towers Demolition 19th August 2012". www.youtube.com.
- Images
- Daniels, Rob. "Thorpe Marsh: Requiem For a Power Station". www.flickr.com.
- "Thorpe Marsh Power Station". Urban Exploration in Doncaster, Yorkshire. Archived from the original on 9 January 2012., images of derelict power station c. 2006
- Blackwell, T.J. "Thorpe Marsh Power Station"., images c. 2010