Teesside power station
Encyclopedia
Teesside Power Station is a partially mothballed gas-fired power station
, in Redcar & Cleveland, England
. Situated near the Wilton chemical complex, the station has combined cycle gas turbines
(CCGTs) and open cycle gas turbines (OCGTs), however in 2011 the operation of the CCGT part of the station was suspended. Prior to the suspension, the station had a generating capacity of 1875 megawatts (MW), making it the largest of any CCGT power station in Europe. The station could meet almost 3% of the electricity demand for England, Wales and Scotland. Opened in 1993, the station was initially operated by Enron
, but after the Enron scandal
of 2001, when the station moved into the hands of PX Ltd, before being bought by Gaz de France
and Suez in 2008. The station also works as a cogeneration
plant, providing steam for the Wilton complex.
in north east England. Construction of the station began in December 1990 and took twenty nine months to complete. The main contracted construction work was undertaken by Westinghouse
and Wimpey
, employing a largely local workforce of 3,000. The station was commissioned in April 1993. The sation was originally owned and operated by US energy company Enron
.
A visitor centre at the power station was opened by MP Mo Mowlam
on 6 November 1998.
During maintenance closure in August 2001, an explosion near one of the power station's transformers killed three workers and injured another man.
After Enron's bankruptcy in 2002, the power station was sold to a management buyout. It was owned by Teesside Power Limited (TPL) and operated on behalf of its owners by PX Limited.
In October 2007 it was put up for sale by its private equity owners Cargill
and Goldman Sachs
, valued between £200 million and £300 million. On 25 February 2008 the station was acquired jointly by Gaz de France
and Suez.
Plans for a £500 million upgrade of the station were granted planning permission in 2008. This upgrade would consist of replacing the existing generating equipment with four 300 MW gas turbines and two 340 MW steam turbines. This would retain the power station's current capacity. However with no work having begun by 2010, a five year extension to the permission was granted in April 2010.
Following a merger between GDF and International Power
in 2010, the ownership of the site was shifted to the latter company.
On 1 April 2011, GDF surrendered 1,830 MW of transmission entry capacity (TEC) of the station and ceased operations of the CCGT element of the plant leaving the Open Cycle gas turbine as the only available machine, leaving the station with an operating capacity of 45 MW. This was due to the low cost of energy imports and a weak market in the UK, resulting in a need to save on operating costs. It is unknown how long the power station will be out of operation for and around 100 workers may lose their jobs due to the mothballing. International Power's lack of clarity over the workers' jobs has been condemned by unions, with Unite the Union
North East regional officer Bob Bolam stating "The company might say they will keep the plant on standby but workers can’t hang around waiting for an upturn". It is yet to be decided whether the mothballing will effectively shelve the planned upgrade of the power station. MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
Tom Blenkinsop
also criticised the move, calling on Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
Chris Huhne
to "see to it that the [owners] ... are not allowed to pull the plug on this plant at this time." in relation to forthcoming end of the lives of UK coal and nuclear plants.
Westinghouse
701DA gas turbines, each fitted with a Nooter and Eriksen heat recovery steam generator, with supplementary firing; two 305 MW Mitsubishi Westinghouse steam turbines; and a single 43 MW LM6000 General Electric
black start gas turbine. These generators are fueled by natural gas
, propane
and naphtha
. As of 1 April 2011, the station is only generating 45 MW after a partial mothballing of the station.
The gas fuel used in the power station is provided from a nearby gas processing plant. It is also connected to UK national gas transmission grid. Water used in the station's steam cycle is cooled by three cooling tower
s. Electricity generated at the station is distributed to the National Grid via 275-kilovolt
(kV) substations
built by ABB.
As well as generating electricity, the station also produces heat in the form of 800 tonnes of process steam per hour for the adjacent Wilton chemical complex, and 2,000 tonnes of gas liquids per day, in the form of propane, butane
and hydrocarbon
s.
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...
, in Redcar & Cleveland, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Situated near the Wilton chemical complex, the station has combined cycle gas turbines
Combined 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...
(CCGTs) and open cycle gas turbines (OCGTs), however in 2011 the operation of the CCGT part of the station was suspended. Prior to the suspension, the station had a generating capacity of 1875 megawatts (MW), making it the largest of any CCGT power station in Europe. The station could meet almost 3% of the electricity demand for England, Wales and Scotland. Opened in 1993, the station was initially operated by Enron
Enron
Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. Before its bankruptcy on December 2, 2001, Enron employed approximately 22,000 staff and was one of the world's leading electricity, natural gas, communications, and pulp and paper companies, with...
, but after the Enron scandal
Enron scandal
The Enron scandal, revealed in October 2001, eventually led to the bankruptcy of the Enron Corporation, an American energy company based in Houston, Texas, and the dissolution of Arthur Andersen, which was one of the five largest audit and accountancy partnerships in the world...
of 2001, when the station moved into the hands of PX Ltd, before being bought by Gaz de France
Gaz de France
Gaz de France was a French company which produced, transported and sold natural gas around the world, especially in France, its main market. The company was also particularly active in Belgium, the United Kingdom, Germany, and other European countries. Through its part-owned Belgian subsidiary SPE...
and Suez in 2008. The station also works as a cogeneration
Cogeneration
Cogeneration is the use of a heat engine or a power station to simultaneously generate both electricity and useful heat....
plant, providing steam for the Wilton complex.
History
The power station was constructed on a 23 acres (93,077.8 m²) site at the Wilton chemical complex near MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough
Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
in north east England. Construction of the station began in December 1990 and took twenty nine months to complete. The main contracted construction work was undertaken by Westinghouse
Westinghouse Electric (1886)
Westinghouse Electric was an American manufacturing company. It was founded in 1886 as Westinghouse Electric Company and later renamed Westinghouse Electric Corporation by George Westinghouse. The company purchased CBS in 1995 and became CBS Corporation in 1997...
and Wimpey
George Wimpey
George Wimpey was formed in 1880 and, based in Hammersmith, operated largely as a road surfacing contractor. The business was acquired by Godfrey Mitchell in 1919 and he developed it into the UK’s pre-eminent construction and housebuilding firm. In 2007, Wimpey merged with Taylor Woodrow to create...
, employing a largely local workforce of 3,000. The station was commissioned in April 1993. The sation was originally owned and operated by US energy company Enron
Enron
Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. Before its bankruptcy on December 2, 2001, Enron employed approximately 22,000 staff and was one of the world's leading electricity, natural gas, communications, and pulp and paper companies, with...
.
A visitor centre at the power station was opened by MP Mo Mowlam
Mo Mowlam
Marjorie "Mo" Mowlam was a British Labour Party politician. She was the Member of Parliament for Redcar from 1987 to 2001 and served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.Mowlam's time as Northern...
on 6 November 1998.
During maintenance closure in August 2001, an explosion near one of the power station's transformers killed three workers and injured another man.
After Enron's bankruptcy in 2002, the power station was sold to a management buyout. It was owned by Teesside Power Limited (TPL) and operated on behalf of its owners by PX Limited.
In October 2007 it was put up for sale by its private equity owners Cargill
Cargill
Cargill, Incorporated is a privately held, multinational corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Founded in 1865, it is now the largest privately held corporation in the United States in terms of revenue. If it were a public company, it would rank, as of 2011, number 13 on the Fortune 500,...
and Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
, valued between £200 million and £300 million. On 25 February 2008 the station was acquired jointly by Gaz de France
Gaz de France
Gaz de France was a French company which produced, transported and sold natural gas around the world, especially in France, its main market. The company was also particularly active in Belgium, the United Kingdom, Germany, and other European countries. Through its part-owned Belgian subsidiary SPE...
and Suez.
Plans for a £500 million upgrade of the station were granted planning permission in 2008. This upgrade would consist of replacing the existing generating equipment with four 300 MW gas turbines and two 340 MW steam turbines. This would retain the power station's current capacity. However with no work having begun by 2010, a five year extension to the permission was granted in April 2010.
Following a merger between GDF and International Power
International Power
International Power PLC is an international electricity generator formed in 2000 by the demerger of National Power. It is headquartered at Senator House, 85 Queen Victoria Street in the City of London...
in 2010, the ownership of the site was shifted to the latter company.
On 1 April 2011, GDF surrendered 1,830 MW of transmission entry capacity (TEC) of the station and ceased operations of the CCGT element of the plant leaving the Open Cycle gas turbine as the only available machine, leaving the station with an operating capacity of 45 MW. This was due to the low cost of energy imports and a weak market in the UK, resulting in a need to save on operating costs. It is unknown how long the power station will be out of operation for and around 100 workers may lose their jobs due to the mothballing. International Power's lack of clarity over the workers' jobs has been condemned by unions, with Unite the Union
Unite the Union
Unite – the Union, known as Unite, is a British and Irish trade union, formed on 1 May 2007, by the merger of Amicus and the Transport and General Workers' Union...
North East regional officer Bob Bolam stating "The company might say they will keep the plant on standby but workers can’t hang around waiting for an upturn". It is yet to be decided whether the mothballing will effectively shelve the planned upgrade of the power station. MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland (UK Parliament constituency)
Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
Tom Blenkinsop
Tom Blenkinsop
Thomas Francis Blenkinsop is a British Labour Party politician and Member of Parliament for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland....
also criticised the move, calling on Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change is a British government cabinet position currently held by Chris Huhne. The government department was created on 3 October 2008 when former Prime Minister Gordon Brown reshuffled his cabinet....
Chris Huhne
Chris Huhne
Christopher Murray Paul-Huhne, generally known as Chris Huhne is a British politician and cabinet minister, who is the current Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for the Eastleigh constituency in Hampshire...
to "see to it that the [owners] ... are not allowed to pull the plug on this plant at this time." in relation to forthcoming end of the lives of UK coal and nuclear plants.
Specifications
With a total generating capacity of 1,875 MW, the station has the largest generating capacity of any CCGT power station in Europe, although it had been the largest in the world at the time of opening. It generates enough electricity to provide 3% of England, Wales and Scotland's combined power needs. The electricity is produced by a number of generators. These are: eight 152 MW Mitsubishi Heavy IndustriesMitsubishi Heavy Industries
, or MHI, is a Japanese company. It is one of the core companies of Mitsubishi Group.-History:In 1870 Yataro Iwasaki, the founder of Mitsubishi took a lease of Government-owned Nagasaki Shipyard. He named it Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works, and started the shipbuilding business on a full scale...
Westinghouse
Westinghouse Electric (1886)
Westinghouse Electric was an American manufacturing company. It was founded in 1886 as Westinghouse Electric Company and later renamed Westinghouse Electric Corporation by George Westinghouse. The company purchased CBS in 1995 and became CBS Corporation in 1997...
701DA gas turbines, each fitted with a Nooter and Eriksen heat recovery steam generator, with supplementary firing; two 305 MW Mitsubishi Westinghouse steam turbines; and a single 43 MW LM6000 General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
black start gas turbine. These generators are 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...
, propane
Propane
Propane is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula , normally a gas, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used as a fuel for engines, oxy-gas torches, barbecues, portable stoves, and residential central...
and naphtha
Naphtha
Naphtha normally refers to a number of different flammable liquid mixtures of hydrocarbons, i.e., a component of natural gas condensate or a distillation product from petroleum, coal tar or peat boiling in a certain range and containing certain hydrocarbons. It is a broad term covering among the...
. As of 1 April 2011, the station is only generating 45 MW after a partial mothballing of the station.
The gas fuel used in the power station is provided from a nearby gas processing plant. It is also connected to UK national gas transmission grid. Water used in the station's steam cycle is cooled by three 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. Electricity generated at the station is distributed to the National Grid via 275-kilovolt
Volt
The volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference, and electromotive force. The volt is named in honor of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery.- Definition :A single volt is defined as the...
(kV) substations
Electrical substation
A substation is a part of an electrical generation, transmission, and distribution system. Substations transform voltage from high to low, or the reverse, or perform any of several other important functions...
built by ABB.
As well as generating electricity, the station also produces heat in the form of 800 tonnes of process steam per hour for the adjacent Wilton chemical complex, and 2,000 tonnes of gas liquids per day, in the form of propane, butane
Butane
Butane is a gas with the formula C4H10 that is an alkane with four carbon atoms. The term may refer to any of two structural isomers, or to a mixture of them: in the IUPAC nomenclature, however, butane refers only to the unbranched n-butane isomer; the other one being called "methylpropane" or...
and hydrocarbon
Hydrocarbon
In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons from which one hydrogen atom has been removed are functional groups, called hydrocarbyls....
s.