Cottam Power Station
Encyclopedia
The Cottam power stations are a pair of power station
s, located on the River Trent
at Cottam
near Retford
in Nottinghamshire
. The largest of the two is a coal-fired power station
, which was commissioned in 1969 by the Central Electricity Generating Board, and has a generating capacity of 1,970 megawatts
(MW). It is now owned by EDF Energy
. The other is Cottam Development Centre, a combined cycle gas turbine plant commissioned in 1999, with a generating capacity of 400 MW. This plant is owned by E.ON UK
.
The site is one of a number of power stations located long the Trent valley, with the West Burton power stations located 3.5 miles (5.6 km) downstream of the station, and Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station
located 52 miles (83.7 km) upstream. The decommissioned High Marnham Power Station
is located 6 miles (9.7 km) upstream.
, for £398 million.
(CCGT) power station, fuelled by natural gas. It was built as a joint venture between Powergen and Siemens
, as a testbed for Siemens to develop CCGT technology.
Construction of the station commenced in July 1997 on a football and cricket pitch adjacent to the coal-fired power station. During construction, heavy components weighing up to 400 tonnes were brought onto site using inland waterways, to avoid damaging local roads. The station opened in September 1999. In May 2002 the station was bought out by Powergen for £52 million.
and one steam turbine
. Electricity from the station has a terminal voltage of 21 kilovolts (kV), and enters the National Grid via a transformer
at 400 kV. The plant has a thermal efficiency
of 58%.
was taken in December 2004, when scaffolding collapsed and injured one worker.
Power station
A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....
s, located on the River Trent
River Trent
The River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...
at Cottam
Cottam, Nottinghamshire
Cottam is a village in Nottinghamshire 8 miles east of Retford. The village church of Holy Trinity is Norman in origin, restored in 1869 and again in 1890 with the addition of a bell turret. To the south of the village is Cottam Power Station with 8 cooling towers, built between 1964 and...
near Retford
Retford
Retford is a market town in Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands of England, located 31 miles from the city of Nottingham, and 23 miles west of Lincoln, in the district of Bassetlaw. The town is situated in a valley with the River Idle and the Chesterfield Canal running through the centre of the...
in Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
. The largest of the two is a coal-fired power station
Fossil fuel power plant
A fossil-fuel power station is a power station that burns fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas or petroleum to produce electricity. Central station fossil-fuel power plants are designed on a large scale for continuous operation...
, which was commissioned in 1969 by the Central Electricity Generating Board, and has a generating capacity of 1,970 megawatts
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
(MW). It is now owned by EDF Energy
EDF Energy
EDF Energy is an integrated energy company in the United Kingdom, with operations spanning electricity generation and the sale of gas and electricity to homes and businesses throughout the United Kingdom...
. The other is Cottam Development Centre, a combined cycle gas turbine plant commissioned in 1999, with a generating capacity of 400 MW. This plant is owned by E.ON UK
E.ON UK
E.ON UK is an energy company in the United Kingdom and a subsidiary of E.ON, the world's largest investor-owned power and gas company. As Powergen, it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but since 1 July 2002 has been owned by E.ON AG of...
.
The site is one of a number of power stations located long the Trent valley, with the West Burton power stations located 3.5 miles (5.6 km) downstream of the station, and Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station
Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station
Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station is a coal-fired power station operated by E.ON UK at Ratcliffe-on-Soar in Nottinghamshire, England. Commissioned in 1968 by the then Central Electricity Generating Board, the station has a capacity of 2,000 MW...
located 52 miles (83.7 km) upstream. The decommissioned High Marnham Power Station
High Marnham Power Station
High Marnham Power Station is a former coal-fired power station, currently undergoing demolition. It is located in Nottinghamshire, to the west of the River Trent, just south of the village of Dunham. It was the most southerly of three power stations which lined the River Trent, the others being...
is located 6 miles (9.7 km) upstream.
History
It opened in 1969 when owned by the Central Electricity Generating Board. After electricity privatisation in 1990, ownership was shifted to Powergen. In October 2000, the plant was sold to London Energy, who are part of EDF EnergyEDF Energy
EDF Energy is an integrated energy company in the United Kingdom, with operations spanning electricity generation and the sale of gas and electricity to homes and businesses throughout the United Kingdom...
, for £398 million.
Cottam Development Centre
The Cottam Development Centre is a 400 MW combined cycle gas turbineCombined cycle
In electric power generation a combined cycle is an assembly of heat engines that work in tandem off the same source of heat, converting it into mechanical energy, which in turn usually drives electrical generators...
(CCGT) power station, fuelled by natural gas. It was built as a joint venture between Powergen and Siemens
Siemens
Siemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG...
, as a testbed for Siemens to develop CCGT technology.
Construction of the station commenced in July 1997 on a football and cricket pitch adjacent to the coal-fired power station. During construction, heavy components weighing up to 400 tonnes were brought onto site using inland waterways, to avoid damaging local roads. The station opened in September 1999. In May 2002 the station was bought out by Powergen for £52 million.
Specification
The power station generates electricity using a single Siemens V94.3A (now called a SGT5-4000F), which has one BENSON heat recovery steam generator gas turbineGas turbine
A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of internal combustion engine. It has an upstream rotating compressor coupled to a downstream turbine, and a combustion chamber in-between....
and one steam turbine
Steam turbine
A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884....
. Electricity from the station has a terminal voltage of 21 kilovolts (kV), and enters the National Grid via a transformer
Transformer
A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another through inductively coupled conductors—the transformer's coils. A varying current in the first or primary winding creates a varying magnetic flux in the transformer's core and thus a varying magnetic field...
at 400 kV. The plant has a thermal efficiency
Thermal efficiency
In thermodynamics, the thermal efficiency is a dimensionless performance measure of a device that uses thermal energy, such as an internal combustion engine, a boiler, a furnace, or a refrigerator for example.-Overview:...
of 58%.
Wildcat strike - 2004
Wildcat strike actionWildcat strike action
A wildcat strike action, often referred to as a wildcat strike, is a strike action taken by workers without the authorization of their trade union officials. This is sometimes termed unofficial industrial action...
was taken in December 2004, when scaffolding collapsed and injured one worker.