| Kearsley Power Station | |
| Coordinates: | 53.5394°N -2.3592°W |
| Country: | England |
| Location: | Greater Manchester |
| Status: | Decommissioned and demolished |
| Operator: | Lancashire Electric Power Company (1929–1948) British Electricity Authority (1948–1955) Central Electricity Authority (1955–1957) Central Electricity Generating Board (1948–1981) |
| Th Fuel Primary: | Coal |
| Ps Cooling Towers: | 5 |
| Ps Cooling Source: | Circulating water cooling towers |
| Ps Units Operational: | 2 × 52 MW, 2 ×51.66 MW (1971) |
| Ps Units Decommissioned: | All decommissioned |
| Ps Annual Generation: | 294.949 GWh (1971) |
| Commissioned: | 1929 |
| Decommissioned: | 1980 |
Kearsley Power Station was a coal-fired power station in Stoneclough, near Kearsley, Bolton, England. It was designed in 1927 by Dr H.F. Parshall for the Lancashire Electric Power Company.[1] The original installation was known as Kearsley 'A', comprising two British Thomson-Houston (B.T.H.) turbo-alternators rated at 32.25 megawatts each. Further extensions became Kearsley 'B' (1936/38), with two more B.T.H. turbo-alternators each capable of producing 51.6 megawatts. Finally Kearsley 'C' (1949) was completed with two more B.T.H. machines rated at 52 megawatts each. The station closed in 1980 when only 'B' station remained operational. The 5 cooling towers were demolished during the week of 14 May 1985.
The power station opened in 1929 by the Earl of Derby, was to become highly regarded within the industry due to its excellent record of thermal efficiency. The power station went on to set new records for low coal consumption in relation to power output. Due to increased power demands there were a further two extensions made to the site in 1936 and 1949, one of which was a new cooling tower reported at the time to be the tallest in the world.[2] The 1936 extension was attended by the Earl of Derby, son of the original Earl of Derby who had opened the company's Radcliffe Power Station 31 years previously.[2]
Originally 'A' Station had four cast iron chimneys but these were replaced by two brick built stacks, each 275 feet high. The later 'B' and 'C' stations each had two brick chimneys of 325 feet high. When completed the adjoining boiler houses totalled 255 yards and the entire buildings and chimneys used several million bricks. It is estimated that the six chimneys alone used at least 8 million bricks. By 1937 the station supplied a maximum load of 101,800 kW of electricity.[2]
When completed in 1949 there were 24 coal burning boilers at Kearsley Power Station,[3] each separate station had eight boilers with six or seven boilers needed to operate each station on full load. There was always spare boiler capacity; the original operators the Lancashire Electric Power Company learning from its experiences at Padiham Power Station which was under boilered. Kearsley 'A' Station boilers burned 5 tons of coal each on full load, and the larger 'B' and 'C' Station boilers consumed 8 tons of coal an hour on full load. Until 1970 there were continuous improvements to the boilers and plant at Kearsley to improve efficiency and reduce running costs.
The electricity output from Kearsley LP and HP power stations was:[4] [5] [6] [7]
| 1946 | 933.52 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1953/4 | 102.21 | 1106.26 | |
| 1954/5 | 92.98 | 873.26 | |
| 1955/6 | 63.46 | 5.42 | |
| 1956/7 | 66.80 | 824.56 | |
| 1957/8 | 74.32 | 590.24 | |
| 1960/1 | 700.366 | ||
| 1961/2 | 707.587 | ||
| 1962/3 | 746.484 | ||
| 1966/7 | 793.59 | ||
| 1971/2 | 294.95 | ||
| 1978/9 | 36.97 | ||
The station closed on 27 October 1980. By this time its generating capacity had been lowered to only 96 MW.[11]