Hams Hall Power Station
Encyclopedia
Hams Hall Power Station refers to a series of three, now demolished coal-fired power stations
, situated in Warwickshire
in the West Midlands
of England, 9 miles (14.5 km) from Birmingham
.
, but the rest was demolished in 1920. Hams Hall Power Station was constructed on the site in 1928. It opened in 1929 with a generating capacity of 90,000 kilowatts (kW). This was increased to 240,000 kW. The station burned approximately 774,000 tonnes of coal a year. At the time it was one of the largest power stations in Europe.
The station was also the first power station in the United Kingdom to burn pulverised coal, rather than lumps of coal. It was also used as a prototype site for the installation of gas turbine
s in coal-fired plants. Water for the station was cooled by six reinforced concrete
hyperbolic
cooling tower
s. At the time, these were the largest cooling towers ever built. The station had two 350 feet (106.7 m) tall chimneys
.
The station's closure was announced in 1975, following a fall in electricity consumption. By the time of its closure its generating capacity had fallen to 151 MW. The station's chimneys and cooling towers were demolished in 1978.
turbo-alternators.
In December 1945 there was complaint about pollution from the station. This was caused by a corroded metal connection between the boilers and the chimneys. The pollution continued until 1948, when the connection was eventually replaced.
The station closed on 26 October 1981 after 39 years of operation. It had a generating capacity of 306 MW at the time of its closure. Its four cooling towers were demolished in November 1985, with chimney number 2 going down in September 1988.
In 1968, the station was under consideration to be converted to fueled by natural gas
, after a successful experimental trial of the fuel in one of the station's boilers earlier in the year. In October 1968 permission for the conversion was refused due to difficulties in the coal industry. Despite this, talk of conversion started again in 1970, and following discussion with the National Coal Board
and the National Union of Mineworkers, permission was granted for the station to co-fire coal and natural gas.
Following privatisation in 1990, the station was operated by Powergen. The C station closed in 1992. Its two chimneys and three cooling towers were demolished on 15 December 1993, under darkness.
made routine investigtions into the feasibility of a D station, but nothing was ever built.
were involved in the construction work of the new estate. The site is still owned by E.ON
, the current form of PowerGen, and known as Hams Hall Distribution Park.
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...
, situated in Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
in the West Midlands
West Midlands (region)
The West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,...
of England, 9 miles (14.5 km) from Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
.
Hams Hall A
Following the death of Lord Norton in 1905, his estate was put up for sale in 1911. Part of the house was rebuilt near CirencesterCirencester
Cirencester is a market town in east Gloucestershire, England, 93 miles west northwest of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswold District. It is the home of the Royal Agricultural College, the oldest agricultural...
, but the rest was demolished in 1920. Hams Hall Power Station was constructed on the site in 1928. It opened in 1929 with a generating capacity of 90,000 kilowatts (kW). This was increased to 240,000 kW. The station burned approximately 774,000 tonnes of coal a year. At the time it was one of the largest power stations in Europe.
The station was also the first power station in the United Kingdom to burn pulverised coal, rather than lumps of coal. It was also used as a prototype site for the installation of gas turbine
Gas 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....
s in coal-fired plants. Water for the station was cooled by six reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete is concrete in which reinforcement bars , reinforcement grids, plates or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen the concrete in tension. It was invented by French gardener Joseph Monier in 1849 and patented in 1867. The term Ferro Concrete refers only to concrete that is...
hyperbolic
Hyperbola
In mathematics a hyperbola is a curve, specifically a smooth curve that lies in a plane, which can be defined either by its geometric properties or by the kinds of equations for which it is the solution set. A hyperbola has two pieces, called connected components or branches, which are mirror...
cooling tower
Cooling tower
Cooling towers are heat removal devices used to transfer process waste heat to the atmosphere. Cooling towers may either use the evaporation of water to remove process heat and cool the working fluid to near the wet-bulb air temperature or in the case of closed circuit dry cooling towers rely...
s. At the time, these were the largest cooling towers ever built. The station had two 350 feet (106.7 m) tall chimneys
Flue gas stack
A flue-gas stack is a type of chimney, a vertical pipe, channel or similar structure through which combustion product gases called flue gases are exhausted to the outside air. Flue gases are produced when coal, oil, natural gas, wood or any other fuel is combusted in an industrial furnace, a power...
.
The station's closure was announced in 1975, following a fall in electricity consumption. By the time of its closure its generating capacity had fallen to 151 MW. The station's chimneys and cooling towers were demolished in 1978.
Hams Hall B
The second station on the site, Hams Hall B Power Station, was planned in 1937. It began generating electricity in 1942. The station was expanded between 1946 and 1949. The station had a generating capacity of 160,500 kW. Its water was cooled by four cooling towers. The station used ParsonsC. A. Parsons and Company
C. A. Parsons and Company was a British engineering firm which was once one of the largest employers on Tyneside.-History:The Company was founded by Charles Algernon Parsons in 1889 to produce turbo-generators, his own invention. At the beginning of the Twentieth Century, the company was producing...
turbo-alternators.
In December 1945 there was complaint about pollution from the station. This was caused by a corroded metal connection between the boilers and the chimneys. The pollution continued until 1948, when the connection was eventually replaced.
The station closed on 26 October 1981 after 39 years of operation. It had a generating capacity of 306 MW at the time of its closure. Its four cooling towers were demolished in November 1985, with chimney number 2 going down in September 1988.
Hams Hall C
The third, final station to be constructed on the site was Hams Hall C Power Station, built in the 1950s and commissioned between 1956 and 1958. The station's water was cooled by three 350 feet (106.7 m) high natural draft cooling towers. It generated 357 MW of electricity using six generating sets.In 1968, the station was under consideration to be converted to fueled by natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
, after a successful experimental trial of the fuel in one of the station's boilers earlier in the year. In October 1968 permission for the conversion was refused due to difficulties in the coal industry. Despite this, talk of conversion started again in 1970, and following discussion with the National Coal Board
National Coal Board
The National Coal Board was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the mines on "vesting day", 1 January 1947...
and the National Union of Mineworkers, permission was granted for the station to co-fire coal and natural gas.
Following privatisation in 1990, the station was operated by Powergen. The C station closed in 1992. Its two chimneys and three cooling towers were demolished on 15 December 1993, under darkness.
Proposed D station
In 1968 the site was considered for a fourth power station. The CEGBCEGB
The Central Electricity Generating Board was the cornerstone of the British electricity industry for almost 40 years; from 1957, to privatisation in the 1990s....
made routine investigtions into the feasibility of a D station, but nothing was ever built.
Present
An industrial estate was constructed on the site. Alfred McAlpineAlfred McAlpine
Alfred McAlpine plc was a British construction firm headquartered in London. It was a major road builder, and constructed over 10% of Britain's motorways, including the M6 Toll...
were involved in the construction work of the new estate. The site is still owned by E.ON
E.ON
E.ON AG, marketed with an interpunct as E•ON, is the holding company of the world's largest investor-owned energy service provider based in Düsseldorf, Germany. The name comes from the Greek word aeon which means eternity....
, the current form of PowerGen, and known as Hams Hall Distribution Park.