Thorpe Marsh Power Station Explained

Thorpe Marsh Power Station
Coordinates:53.5806°N -1.0853°W
Location Map Zoom:7
Country:England
Location:South Yorkshire, Yorkshire and the Humber
Operator:Central Electricity Generating Board
Th Fuel Primary:Coal
Th Fuel Tertiary:Heavy Fuel Oil
Ps Electrical Capacity:1,100 MW
Construction Began:1959
Commissioned:1963[1]
Decommissioned:1994

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.

History

Construction and operation, (1959–1994)

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. 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.[4]

There were 2 × 28 MW auxiliary gas turbines on the site, these had been commissioned in December 1966.[5]

The plant was officially opened in 1967.[6]

The station contained two 550 MW generating units with cross compound turbines, supplied from a single boiler. Steam was supplied at 2300psi at 1050F.[7]

The annual electricity output of Thorpe Marsh was:

1963–4
1964–51965–61966–71971–21978–91981–2
Electricity supplied, GWh5811,6971,8032,8043,6603,7504,296
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.[8]

After the privatisation of the CEGB in 1990, the station was operated by National Power. The station subsequently closed in 1994.[9] [10]

Post closure (1994–)

The 110abbr=onNaNabbr=on 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 18km (11miles) 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]

In 2022 plans were unveiled to build a 1.4 GW Battery Energy Storage System on the site, named the "Thorpe Marsh Energy Park".[18] Local news sources have highlighted the project's potential in repurposing the old power station's infrastructure.[19]

References

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Nostalgia on Tuesday: Towering presence. 30 October 2021. The Yorkshire Post. 19 June 2018.
  2. Web site: Thorpe Marsh CCGT Power Station – Environment Statement . 30 October 2021. 203. September 2010.
  3. Web site: Barnby Dun Village History. Barnby Dun Community Association. 30 October 2021.
  4. Book: CEGB. CEGB Statistical Yearbooks 1964, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1982. CEGB. 1966. London. 26, 26, 20.
  5. Book: The Electricity Council. Handbook of Electricity Supply Statistics. The Electricity Council. 1990. 085188122X. London. 8.
  6. Engineering. Site-Assembled Transformer. 203. 775. 1967. Centaur Media. London. 0013-7758.
  7. Web site: 1963, p.87. Electricity Supply in the UK: A chronology. Electricity Council. c. 1987. 26 August 2014.
  8. Thorpe Marsh Power Station (Workmen's Deaths). Hansard – Written Answers (Commons). 5 March 1973. 852. c42W.
  9. Web site: Generation disconnections since 1991. https://archive.today/20121205023032/http://www.nationalgrid.com/UK/library/documents/sys_03/dddownloaddisplay.asp?sp=sys_Table3_7. dead. 5 December 2012. 2003. National Grid. 5 October 2009.
  10. Thorpe Marsh Power Station. Hansard – House of Commons. 16 June 1993 . 226. cc968-74.
  11. Web site: Thorpe Marsh . Able UK . 26 August 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080919105125/http://www.ableuk.com/propertydev-thorpemarsh.htm . 19 September 2008.
  12. Book: Flooding: Fifth Report of Session 2007–08. 2: Oral and Written Evidence. House of Commons. Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee. Ev 309–310, §20–33, "Memorandum Submitted by National Grid (FL 80). 7 May 2008. 978-0-215-51488-2 .
  13. News: Two power plants to create 1,000 jobs in Yorkshire. BBC News. 5 February 2015. 31 October 2011.
  14. Web site: Thorpe Marsh may be first UK Flexefficiency application. 9 November 2011. Modern Power Systems. 26 August 2014.
  15. Web site: 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. www.og.decc.gov.uk. 31 October 2011. 26 August 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20111205144236/https://www.og.decc.gov.uk/EIP/pages/projects/ThorpeConsent.pdf. 5 December 2011.
  16. Web site: Thorpe Marsh Gas Pipeline. 26 August 2014. infrastructure.planningportal.gov.uk. https://web.archive.org/web/20140827034816/http://infrastructure.planningportal.gov.uk/projects/yorkshire-and-the-humber/thorpe-marsh-gas-pipeline/?ipcsection=overview. 27 August 2014.
  17. Web site: ABLE Thorpe Marsh. Able UK. 26 August 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141004142328/http://www.ableuk.com/sites/land-sites/thorpe-marsh/. 4 October 2014.
  18. Web site: One of world's largest battery hubs could store North Sea wind power at old UK coal plant. 14 October 2023. Recharge News.
  19. Web site: Plans for former Thorpe Marsh Power Station to be turned into green energy hub. 14 October 2023. Doncaster Free Press.

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