Roosecote Power Station
Encyclopedia
Roosecote Power Station is a gas-fired
and former coal-fired
power station
, situated in the Roose
cote district of Barrow-in-Furness
in Cumbria
, North West England
. The current gas-fired station was the first CCGT power station to supply electricity to the United Kingdom's National Grid.
began generating electricity in 1954. The station had a generating capacity of 120 megawatts (MW). The station was initially operated by the Central Electricity Authority
, which became the Central Electricity Generating Board in 1957. The station closed in November 1986. At the time of its closure only 60 MW of the station's capacity was in operation.
Construction started on 3 January 1990, the construction work carried out by Alfred McAlpine
and Stone & Webster
. The station was commissioned on 20 November 1991, although officially opened on 1 November 1991 by John Wakeham
. It had been the first Independent Power Project
(IPP) since the privatisation
of the UK electricity industry in 1990. The station was operated by ABB, though owned by Lakeland Power. ABB then sold its 60% stake of the company to California
-based Edison Mission Energy
(EME), who bought the rest of the company from NORWEB in October 1999. In December 2002, EME company went into receivership, due to the financial troubles of Texas-based TXU who had bought NORWEB's supply business, and the station was temporarily shut down. On 14 May 2003, the station was bought by Centrica Energy
for £24 million.
power station, ran on natural gas
. The fuel comes from the nearby Centrica gas terminal - which is supplied from the Morecambe Bay gas field
. The station generated electricity using one 165 MWe Alstom
GT13E gas turbine
, its associated alternator
having a terminal voltage of 15.75 kV, rated at 210MVA
, from which the exhaust gases at 520C pass through one CMI heat recovery steam generator. Steam from this powers one 63MWe steam turbine
, with its alternator having a terminal voltage of 12.5 kV. The station has a thermal efficiency
of 49%. The electricity generated enters the National Grid, via a transformer, at 132 kV, where it powers part of the United Utilities
(former NORWEB
) network.
The station does not operate as a base load
station, but is runs for peak load
operation. It employs thirty three people.
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...
and former coal-fired
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
power station
Power station
A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....
, situated in the Roose
Roose
Roose or Roosecote is a suburb and ward of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. The word 'roose' is Celtic for "moor" or "heath" and the suffix 'cote' of Roosecote means "hut" or "huts"...
cote district of Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...
in Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
, North West England
North West England
North West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...
. The current gas-fired station was the first CCGT power station to supply electricity to the United Kingdom's National Grid.
Coal-fired power station
The coal-fired power stationFossil 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...
began generating electricity in 1954. The station had a generating capacity of 120 megawatts (MW). The station was initially operated by the Central Electricity Authority
Central Electricity Authority (UK)
The Central Electricity Authority was a body that ran the electricity supply industry in England and Wales between 1954 and 1957. The CEA replaced the earlier British Electricity Authority as a result of the Electricity Reorganisation Act 1954, which moved responsibility for Scottish electricity...
, which became the Central Electricity Generating Board in 1957. The station closed in November 1986. At the time of its closure only 60 MW of the station's capacity was in operation.
CCGT power station
The first organisation to plan for a new power station on the site was Cumbria Power in 1987, formed of four engineers. They hoped to build a CCGT plant that used the steam turbines of the former plant. This idea wasn't feasible, so a new power station was chosen instead, but situated in the former turbine hall. ABB joined the planning process in April 1989, and a new company - Lakeland Power Ltd - was formed, being owned 80% by ABB and 20% by Cumbria Power. In October 1989, the North Western Electricity Board (NORWEB) signed an agreement with Lakeland Power to have a supply of electricity - the first such agreement between a UK Regional Electricity Company and a private generator. NORWEB also bought 20% of the company.Construction started on 3 January 1990, the construction work carried out by Alfred McAlpine
Alfred 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...
and Stone & Webster
Stone & Webster
Stone & Webster is an American engineering services company based in Stoughton, Massachusetts. Stone & Webster was founded as an electrical testing lab and consulting firm by electrical engineers Charles Stone and Edwin Webster in 1889. It was acquired by The Shaw Group in 2000. The company...
. The station was commissioned on 20 November 1991, although officially opened on 1 November 1991 by John Wakeham
John Wakeham
John Wakeham, Baron Wakeham, PC, DL is a businessman and British Conservative Party politician and the current Chancellor of Brunel University.He was a director of Enron from 1994 until its bankruptcy in 2001....
. It had been the first Independent Power Project
Independent Power Producer
An Independent Power Producer is an entity, which is not a public utility, but which owns facilities to generate electric power for sale to utilities and end users...
(IPP) since the privatisation
Timeline of the UK electricity supply industry
The following is a list of major events in the history of the United Kingdom's electricity supply industry.-See also:*Energy policy of the United Kingdom*Energy use and conservation in the United Kingdom*Energy switching services in the UK-References:* *...
of the UK electricity industry in 1990. The station was operated by ABB, though owned by Lakeland Power. ABB then sold its 60% stake of the company to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
-based Edison Mission Energy
Edison International
Edison International is a public utility holding company based in Rosemead, California. Its subsidiaries include Southern California Edison, and un-regulated non-utility assets Edison Mission Energy and Midwest Generation, power producers, and Edison Capital...
(EME), who bought the rest of the company from NORWEB in October 1999. In December 2002, EME company went into receivership, due to the financial troubles of Texas-based TXU who had bought NORWEB's supply business, and the station was temporarily shut down. On 14 May 2003, the station was bought by Centrica Energy
Centrica
Centrica plc is a multinational utility company, based in the United Kingdom but also with interests in North America. Centrica is the largest supplier of gas to domestic customers in the UK, and one of the largest suppliers of electricity, operating under the trading names "Scottish Gas" in...
for £24 million.
Implications for the coal industry
Following the Roosecote station's path, many more CCGTs were built in the UK, as gas became an alternative to coal power. This hastened the demise of Britain's coal industry. In 1997, restrictions were placed by the newly elected Labour government, on the number of gas fired power stations that could be built.Specification
The station is a CCGTCombined 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...
power station, ran on 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...
. The fuel comes from the nearby Centrica gas terminal - which is supplied from the Morecambe Bay gas field
Morecambe Bay
Morecambe Bay is a large bay in northwest England, nearly due east of the Isle of Man and just to the south of the Lake District National Park. It is the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom, covering a total area of 310 km².-Natural features:The rivers Leven,...
. The station generated electricity using one 165 MWe Alstom
Alstom
Alstom is a large multinational conglomerate which holds interests in the power generation and transport markets. According to the company website, in the years 2010-2011 Alstom had annual sales of over €20.9 billion, and employed more than 85,000 people in 70 countries. Alstom's headquarters are...
GT13E 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....
, its associated alternator
Alternator
An alternator is an electromechanical device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy in the form of alternating current.Most alternators use a rotating magnetic field but linear alternators are occasionally used...
having a terminal voltage of 15.75 kV, rated at 210MVA
Volt-ampere
A volt-ampere is the unit used for the apparent power in an electrical circuit, equal to the product of root-mean-square voltage and RMS current. In direct current circuits, this product is equal to the real power in watts...
, from which the exhaust gases at 520C pass through one CMI heat recovery steam generator. Steam from this powers one 63MWe 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....
, with its alternator having a terminal voltage of 12.5 kV. The station 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 49%. The electricity generated enters the National Grid, via a transformer, at 132 kV, where it powers part of the United Utilities
United Utilities
United Utilities Group PLC is the UK's largest listed water business. The Group owns and manages the regulated water and waste water network in the north west England, through it subsidiary United Utilities Water PLC , which is responsible for the vast majority of the group's assets and...
(former NORWEB
NORWEB
Norweb PLC, originally the North West Electricity Board, was a British electricity supply and distribution company. It supplied electricity to about 4.7 million industrial, commercial and domestic customers in the North West of England. The Board was originally formed in 1948 as part of the...
) network.
The station does not operate as a base load
Base load power plant
Baseload is the minimum amount of power that a utility or distribution company must make available to its customers, or the amount of power required to meet minimum demands based on reasonable expectations of customer requirements...
station, but is runs for peak load
Peaking power plant
Peaking power plants, also known as peaker plants, and occasionally just "peakers," are power plants that generally run only when there is a high demand, known as peak demand, for electricity.-Peak hours:...
operation. It employs thirty three people.