Thorpe Marsh Power Station was a 1 GW coal-fired power station near Barnby Dun in South Yorkshire, England. The station was commissioned in 1963 and closed in 1994.[2] 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 | |
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Country | England |
Location | South Yorkshire, Yorkshire and the Humber |
Coordinates | 53.580602°N 1.08534°W / 53.580602; -1.08534 |
Construction began | 1959 |
Commission date | 1963[1] |
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 |
Construction of the station began in 1959;[3] it was built as a prototype for all the large modern power stations in the UK. It was commissioned between 1963 and 1965.[4] 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.[5]
There were 2 × 28 MW auxiliary gas turbines on the site, these had been commissioned in December 1966.[6]
The plant was officially opened in 1967.[7]
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).[8]
The annual electricity output of Thorpe Marsh was:[5]
Year | 1963–4 | 1964–5 | 1965–6 | 1966–7 | 1971–2 | 1978–9 | 1981–2 |
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Electricity supplied, GWh | 581 | 1,697 | 1,803 | 2,804 | 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.[9]
After the privatisation of the CEGB in 1990, the station was operated by National Power. The station subsequently closed in 1994.[4][10]
The 45 acres (18 ha) site was acquired by Able UK in 1995.[11]
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.[12]
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.[13][14][15] Thorpe Marsh Power Limited proposed an initial capacity of 960 MW.[15] The proposed development would also require the construction of an 11-mile (18 km) gas pipeline from Camblesforth;[16] Thorpe Marsh Power Limited is expected to submit an application for the gas pipeline in late 2014.[16]
Able UK demolished the original power station's cooling towers in 2012.[17]
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