Dunston Power Station
Dunston power station | |
---|---|
Thermal power station | |
Primary fuel | Coal |
Secondary fuel | Natural gas |
Power generation | |
Units operational | A station: Two 7.2 MW Brown Boveri and later one 15 MW C. A. Parsons and Company gas turbine B station: Six 50 MW C. A. Parsons and Company |
Nameplate capacity | 1910: 33.85 MW 1951: 333.85 MW 1955: 348.85 MW 1981: 98 MW |
External links | |
Commons | Related media on Commons |
] |
- Sometimes confused with the nearby Stella power stations.
Dunston Power Station refers to a pair of adjacent
Dunston A had a generating capacity of 48.85 megawatts (MW) in 1955, and Dunston B had a generating capacity of 300 MW. Electricity from the stations powered an area covering Northumberland, County Durham, Cumberland, Yorkshire and as far north as Galashiels in Scotland.[1]
Dunston A Power Station
History
With the expansion of the electric supply industry in the early 1900s, power stations were built to supply homes with electric lighting. Around
Design and specification
The station was of a similar design to other local power stations at Carville and Lemington, and was a large
Low temperature carbonisation plant
In 1925, NESCo set up separate plant at the power station for the low temperature
Gas turbine plant
Between 1947[3] and November 1955,[12] the station was extended, and a 15 MW Parsons gas turbine turbo alternator was installed, bringing the capacity of the station up to 48.85 MW.[3][13][14] The gas was supplied by pipe line from the Norwood Coke Works, 1.5 mi (2.4 km) away in the Team Valley.[3][15]
The electricity output from the A station was as follows.[16]
Year | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Electricity output, GWh | 53.032 | 56.967 | 46.991 | 25.461 |
Dunston B Power Station
As part of a transition from the 40 Hertz (Hz) system, used by the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Electric Supply Company, to the 50 Hz system, used by the new UK National Grid, which took place in 1932, a new power station was built to replace the A power station.[17]
Design and specification
The new Dunston B Power Station was designed by consulting engineers Merz & McLellan.[18] Its design was different from the design of other power stations at the time because it enclosed the machinery in a steel frame clad with glass.[1] This was a departure from the usual power station designs, which normally enclosed the machinery in a concrete or brick wall. Dunston B is thought to be the first power station in the UK and possibly even the world to be built in this way.[4] The station was also the first in the world to use metal clad switchgear at a voltage as high as 66,000 V.[19]
Construction of the new power station started in 1930, but the Second World War delayed its full completion until 1951. The station was opened in stages throughout its construction, as generating units were able to be put into production while the other sections were still under construction. The first units were commissioned in January 1933.[7][14]
The new station had a capacity of 300
The station's units were the first application of
The stations' buildings were around 100 ft (30 m) tall. Flue gas was discharged through six 250 ft (76 m) tall
Operations
The plant's water system was cooled by using the nearby River Tyne, rather than using a
Various ships disposed of the station's ash waste, by carrying the
In 1971 the station had an installed capacity of 282.5 MW comprising two 52 MW and four 44 MW generator sets.[28] The boilers had an output capacity of 2,250,000 pounds per hour (283.4 kg/s) of steam at 600 psi (41.4 bar) and 427/454 °C. In 1971 the station delivered 508.83 GWh of electricity.[28]
The electricity generating capacity and output of Dunston B power station are shown in the tables. Separate figures are given for the Part I plant (1933–39) and the part II plant (1949–50).[16][29][30]
Year | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Installed capacity, MW | 184 | 184 | 184 | 184 | 184 |
Electricity output, GWh | 1,057.600 | 1,014.282 | 872.428 | 695.021 | 583.341 |
Year | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1967 | 1971 | 1979 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Installed capacity, MW | 96 | 96 | 96 | 96 | 96 | 282.5 (total I & II) | 282 (total I & II) | 104 |
Electricity output, GWh | 743.548 | 725.263 | 672.284 | 495.410 | 632.392 | 576.899 | 508.831 | 117.145 |
Closure, demolition and present
In its time, Dunston B Power Station ranked consistently in England's leading stations, both in terms of thermal efficiency and cost per unit of electricity.[14] However, the station eventually became outdated, and notification of its partial closure was given in October 1975, with some units being closed the following October.[31] It was then only used as a stand-by station, operating only at peak electrical demand times. Finally, after some units having been in operation for about 40 years, the station ceased to generate electricity on 26 October 1981. At the time of closure, only 98 MW of the station's capacity was in use.[32]
The station was demolished in 1986 to make way for the MetroCentre, which became Europe's largest shopping and leisure centre.[33] The land on which the MetroCentre was built was bought for only £100,000, because the site was water-logged and had been used for dumping ash produced by the power station. American warehouse club chain Costco have since built a store on the actual site of the power station.[34] The power station's large indoor sub-station still stands alongside it, as the only trace of the site's former use.
Due to the closure of Dunston power station, along with the later closures of the power stations at Stella and Blyth, the northern part of North East England has become heavily dependent upon the National Grid for electrical supply. However, in the south of the region there are still two large power stations at Hartlepool and Teesside, meaning that the south of the region does not depend upon the National Grid for electrical supply as much as the north of the region.[35]
Visual and cultural impact
The power station's six
When in operation, the B station briefly featured in Get Carter, a 1971 crime film starring Michael Caine. Dunston B appears as part of the film's backdrop, viewed from the now demolished Frank Street in Benwell, as the funeral cortège of the main character's brother Frank leaves a house on the street.[34][37]
The station was also a popular subject for photographers. It featured in the work of documentary and press photographer Bert Hardy, who photographed it from Benwell, using it as a backdrop whilst photographing a mother and child.[38] It was also photographed by Welsh documentary photographer Jimmy Forsyth (photographer) as part of his Scotswood Road collection.[39]
See also
- List of power stations in England
- Timeline of the UK electricity supply industry
- Energy use and conservation in the United Kingdom
- Electricity Act 1947
- Electricity Act 1957
- Northern Electric
References
- ^ a b c d e "Dunston Power Station". Whickham Web Wanderers. u3a. Archived from the original on 3 May 2013. Retrieved 29 June 2008.
- ^ "North Eastern Electricity Board". The National Archives. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f "Dunston Power Station". The Electrician. 87. James Gray: 259. 1947. Retrieved 17 June 2010.
- ^ a b c "History of Dunston". Retrieved 13 June 2010.
- ^ Jux, Frank (August 1974). "Sir Robert McAlpine & Sons Ltd: The End of an Era". The Industrial Railway Record. Retrieved 2 July 2010.
- ^ Institution of Civil Engineers (1937). "Minutes of proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers". 240 (2): 3. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ a b "Structure Details". Newcastle University. 26 March 2004. Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2010.
- ^ "000841:Power Station Dunston unknown not dated". Newcastle Libraries. 25 August 2009. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
- ISBN 0-8018-4614-5. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
- ^ "Low-Temperature Carbonisation at Dunston". Durham Mining Museum. November 1928. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
- ^ "A Notable Low-Temperature Plant". Durham Mining Museum. April 1931. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
- ^ "The Electrical Journal". 155. 1955. Retrieved 17 June 2010.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ "Gas Turbines". Electrical Times. 123: 68. 1953. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
- ^ a b c d e The Electricity Council. "Electricity Supply in the United Kingdom" (PDF). pp. 55, 67, 75. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 April 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2010.
- ^ Dr D G Edwards. "By-Product Coking Plants in Britain: An Outline History" (PDF). The Coke Oven Managers' Association. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2010.
- ^ a b Garrett, Frederick C., ed. (1959). Garcke's Manual of Electricity Supply vol.56. London: Electrical Press. pp. A-52–53, A-119–120.
- Rootsweb. Archived from the originalon 15 July 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
- ^ "Dunston 'B' Power Station, Dunston". RIBA Architecture.
- ^ North-Eastern Electric Supply Company Limited 1889-1948. Newcastle upon Tyne: T.M Grierson Ltd. March 1948.
- ISBN 0-7503-0582-7. Retrieved 17 June 2010.
- ^ Parsons, R.H. (1939). "X". The Early Days of the Power Station Industry. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 183.
- ISBN 978-1-4437-7294-5.
- ^ Mr. Joynson-Hicks; Mr. Popplewell (11 May 1953). "Power Station, Dunston-on-Tyne (Electrostatic Precipitators)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Retrieved 28 July 2009.
- ^ "Steam Locomotive, named Eustace Forth". nrm.org.uk. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
- ^ "Dunston Power Station No. 13 'The Barra'". steamlocomotive.info. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
- ^ Wilson, Ian (3 March 2003). "Hardworking Bessie". Evening Chronicle. Retrieved 3 July 2010. [dead link]
- ^ "Tyne Tugs". Aspects of South Shields. Archived from the original on 17 May 2008. Retrieved 29 June 2008.
- ^ a b CEGB (1972). CEGB Statistical Yearbook 1972. London: CEGB. p. 15.
- ^ CEGB (1972). CEGB Statistical Yearbook 1972. London: CEGB. p. 15.
- ^ CEGB (1979). CEGB Statistical Yearbook 1978-9. London: CEGB. p. 8.
- ^ Mr. Eadie (5 December 1975). "Power Stations". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Retrieved 28 July 2009.
- ^ Mr. Redmond (16 January 1984). "Coal-fired Power Stations". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Retrieved 28 July 2009.
- ^ Henderson, Tony (19 March 2007). "A bridge to a better and greener future". The Journal. Retrieved 20 November 2008. [dead link]
- ^ a b Noah, Sherna (4 October 2004). "Caine No 1". Sunday Sun. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
- ^ Bone, Anthony; Morag Hunter; Bill Wilkinson (1999). "Energy for a new century" (PDF). North East England: Government Offices for the English Regions. pp. 50, 106. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 August 2009. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
- ^ Newcastle upon Tyne, Sunderland, Durham (Map) (1980 ed.). 1 : 15840. A to Z. Geographers' A–Z Street Atlas. p. 36–37, 54–60.
- ^ "Film Locations Get Carter". Archived from the original on 11 May 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2009.
- ^ "Newcastle Street". Getty Images. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
- ^ "Dunston Power Station, November 1955". Amber Online. Archived from the original on 3 September 2009. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
External links
- iSee Gateshead – Various photographs from the construction of the B Station
- Appeal – An appeal for former employees of the power station, after a former worker at the station died from asbestos fibers.
- YouTube – Footage from a train passing the power station in 1983