Thorpe Marsh Power Station

Thorpe Marsh Power Station
Thorpe Marsh power station's cooling towers.
Location of Thorpe Marsh Power Station in South Yorkshire
Country	England
Location	South Yorkshire, Yorkshire and the Humber
Coordinates
Commission date	1963
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
grid reference SE605097

Thorpe Marsh Power Station was a 1 GW coal-fired power station near Barnby Dun in South Yorkshire, England.

The station was built in 1959 and closed in 1994

In 2011 permission was given for the construction of a gas fired powerstation on the site.

History

Construction and operation, (1959–1990)

Construction of the station began in 1959, it was built as a prototype for all the large modern power stations in the UK. It was commissioned between 1963 and 1965.

The plant was officially opened in 1967.

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).

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.

After the privatization of the Central Electricity Generating Board (1990) the station was operated by National Power. The station closed in 1994.

Post closure (1990–)

The 45 acres (18 ha) site was acquired by Able UK in 1995.

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.

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. Thorpe Marsh Power Limited proposed an initial capacity of 960 MW. The proposed development would also require the construction of an 11-mile (18 km) gas pipeline from Camblesforth; Thorpe Marsh Power Limited is expected to submit an application for the gas pipeline in late 2014.

Able UK demolished the original power station's cooling towers in 2012.

External links

• , parliamentary discussion on closure

Images

• , images of derelict power station c.2006
• , images c.2010