Poolbeg Generating Station
| Poolbeg Generating Station | ||
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Poolbeg Generating Station (
The plant is located on the
History
geon_House_Hotel_at_Poolbeg,_Dublin.jpg)
The Poolbeg power station is situated adjacent to the now-decommissioned Pigeon House generating station, where electricity was first generated in 1903 (with the distinction of being the first in the world to generate three phase power).
The name “Pigeon House” comes from a caretaker’s lodge built there in 1760. At the time the site was a wooden platform known pragmatically as “The Piles”, at the seaward end of the Ballast Office Wall embankment. The lodge was intended to provide rest and storage facilities for workers as they built the Great South Wall, a massive sea wall project that began in 1761 and would take three decades to complete.
The first caretaker, John Pidgeon, was appointed in 1761. Pidgeon opened an eatery to provide refreshments for the workers and the growing number of travelers arriving into Dublin Bay. “Pigeon’s House” as it was known became one of the most popular restaurants in Dublin.[1]
Around 1793, as the Great South Wall was nearing completion, a hotel opened at the site, the Pigeon House Hotel.
The hotel did not last long for after the 1798 Rebellion, the area was transformed into a military fort, the Pigeon House Fort. The hotel building was converted into the officers’ accommodation within the fort, which then grew over the next hundred years to include an armory, a hospital, and trenches crossed by drawbridges.
Between 1878 and 1881, a sewage pipe was installed along the former Ballast Office Wall (now the landward half of the Great South Wall). In 1897, the military complex was sold to the Dublin Corporation and developed into a sewage processing facility, as well as the city’s first major electrical power generating station.[2] It was used for power generation until it was decommissioned in 1976, and the Poolbeg plant is still known locally as the Pigeon House.
The modern Poolbeg station was named after the
The Poolbeg power station was constructed in two separate phases, beginning in the 1960s. The ESB decided to construct the station in 1965 and the initial development was completed in 1971 with the construction of Units 1 and 2 at a cost of 20 million Irish pounds. The original Pigeon House generators remained on standby duty until 1976. Unit 3 was completed in 1978 at a cost of 40 million pounds.
The combined cycle station was constructed in the 1990s. CG14 was commissioned in 1994, CG15 in 1998 and ST16 in 2001.
Technical details
 | This section needs to be updated. (July 2021) |
The identical units 1 and 2 have a design output of 120 MW each. They both have
Unit 3 has a design output of 271 MW. It uses a turbo-alternator manufactured by Alstom, France and a 'once through' type Boiler by M.A.N Germany.
Uniquely among power stations run by the
The
Since it opened in 2017, the adjacent
Partial closure
In 2006, the
Poolbeg Chimneys
The thermal station chimneys completed in 1971 are among the tallest structures in Ireland and are visible from most of Dublin city. Number 1 chimney is 207.48m (680 ft 9in) high. Number 2 chimney is 207.8m (681 ft 9in) high. The chimneys are featured prominently in the video for the song "
They were subsequently listed as protected structures in July 2014.[9]
See also
- Dublin Waste-to-Energy Plant
References
- ^ Michael Behan, “Peninsula has rich history”, The Irish Echo, 22 October 2019.
- ^ "HOLYHEAD SERVICES 1561-2011" (PDF). btpf.org. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
- ^ Map of Dublin in 1685 by Thomas Phillips. British Library. Reproduced in Irish Historuc Towns Atlas no. 19, Dublin part II, 2008.
- ^ http://www.finfacts.com/irelandbusinessnews/publish/article_1010398.shtml Poolbeg Thermal (461MW) (Dublin) (Oil / Gas). Poolbeg comprises two separate plants: the three thermal units (461MW) and the combined cycle gas plant (460MW) which opened in 2000 will remain in operation
- ^ Independent TSO EirGrid Generation Adequacy Report 2007-2013 (PDF) (Report). Eirgrid. 1 November 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 August 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
- ^ Plea to save iconic twin stacks. Irish Independent 2007-07-07.
- ^ Poolbeg's chimneys puff their last plumes SADNESS: Landmark now looks doomed despite preservation bid. Evening Herald, 2010-03-31.
- ^ "Dublin Treasures - The Poolbeg Chimneys". Dublin.ie. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
- ^ "Lit up Poolbeg stacks could be 'as beautiful as Eiffel Tower'". The Irish Times.
External links
