Tilbury Power Station
Encyclopedia
The Tilbury power stations refer to a series of two power stations
on the north bank of the River Thames
at Tilbury
, in Essex
, England
. The 1,428 MW Tilbury B Power Station has operated since 1967 and fires coal
, as well as co-firing oil and biomass
. The former oil-fired
360 megawatts (MW) Tilbury A Power Station operated between 1956 and 1981 when it was mothballed. The current system generates enough electricity to meet the electrical requirements of 1.4 million people, equivalent to 80% of the population of Essex. RWE currently have plans to convert the station to burn biomass only.
. It was mothballed in 1981 and eventually demolished in 1999.
, but is now operated by RWE npower
. The jetty was enlarged in 2004 to accommodate ships carrying up to 65,000 tons of coal.
announced plans to replace the B station with a 1,600 MW 'cleaner' coal-fired power station. The station would have cost £1 billion to build and was hoped to be operational by 2014. The plans were supported by the Port of London Authority
. RWE had also planned to build a clean coal power station at Blyth
but they have since postponed both schemes.
.
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...
on the north bank of the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
at Tilbury
Tilbury
Tilbury is a town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. As a settlement it is of relatively recent existence, although it has important historical connections, being the location of a 16th century fort and an ancient cross-river ferry...
, in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, 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...
. The 1,428 MW Tilbury B Power Station has operated since 1967 and fires coal
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...
, as well as co-firing oil and biomass
Biomass
Biomass, as a renewable energy source, is biological material from living, or recently living organisms. As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly, or converted into other energy products such as biofuel....
. The former oil-fired
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
360 megawatts (MW) Tilbury A Power Station operated between 1956 and 1981 when it was mothballed. The current system generates enough electricity to meet the electrical requirements of 1.4 million people, equivalent to 80% of the population of Essex. RWE currently have plans to convert the station to burn biomass only.
A station
Following construction which began in 1951, Tilbury 'A' station was commissioned in 1956 by 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....
. It was mothballed in 1981 and eventually demolished in 1999.
B station
The CEGB began construction of a much larger new station, Tilbury 'B', in 1961. This was opened in 1968. On privatisation in 1990 it was assigned to National PowerNational Power
- History :National Power was formed following the privatisation of the UK electricity market in 1990. In England and Wales the Central Electricity Generating Board, which was responsible for the generation and transmission of electricity was split into three generating companies Powergen, National...
, but is now operated by RWE npower
Npower (UK)
RWE Npower plc is a UK-based electricity and gas supply generation company, formerly known as Innogy plc. As Innogy plc it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index...
. The jetty was enlarged in 2004 to accommodate ships carrying up to 65,000 tons of coal.
Conversion to biomass
In May 2011, RWE began converting the B station to burn biomass only. They hoped for the conversion to allow 750 MW of electricity to be generated from burning wood pellets imported from a pelleting plant in Georgia, USA, by the winter of 2011. This conversion will make the station the biggest biomass generating site in the world.C station
In early 2007, npowerNpower
Npower may refer to:* Npower , a gas and electricity supply company in the UK, a subsidiary of RWE* NPower , a network of nonprofit technology assistance providers in the United States...
announced plans to replace the B station with a 1,600 MW 'cleaner' coal-fired power station. The station would have cost £1 billion to build and was hoped to be operational by 2014. The plans were supported by the Port of London Authority
Port of London Authority
The Port of London Authority is a self-funding public trust established in 1908 by the Port of London Act to govern the Port of London. Its responsibility extends over the Tideway of the River Thames and the authority is responsible for the public right of navigation and for conservancy of the...
. RWE had also planned to build a clean coal power station at Blyth
Blyth Power Station
Blyth Power Station refers to a pair of now demolished coal-fired power stations, which were located on the Northumberland coast in North East England. The two stations were built alongside each other on a site near Cambois in Northumberland, on the northern bank of the River Blyth, between its...
but they have since postponed both schemes.
Design and specification
The B station contains four generating units, one of which has been decommissioned since the stations opening and is now redundant, only being used as spare parts for maintenance of the remaining 3 generating units, all 4 units were available before this with a combined capacity of 1428 MW, enough power for 1.4 million people, approximately 80% of the population of Essex. Cooling water is drawn from the Thames. Fuel is delivered by ship to dedicated unloading jetties. The station connects to the National Grid at the nearby 275 kV substationElectrical 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...
.
2008 boiler incident
On 1 July 2008, a man servicing an offline boiler at the station fell 20 ft (6.1 m) from scaffolding into the boiler. Crews used an internal staircase in the boiler to rescue the man, and he was taken to safety by 11am.2009 fire
A fire broke out at the power station on 29 July 2009. The fire broke out shortly after 3:00pm, with the failure of one of the station's high pressure turbine units. Workers were evacuated immediately, and the fire was reported to be under control by 5:30pm. There were no casualties.External links
- YouTube - Fire at the power station
- YouTube - Bill OddieBill OddieWilliam "Bill" Edgar Oddie OBE is an English author, actor, comedian, artist, naturalist and musician, who became famous as one of The Goodies....
opens an environmental centre at the power station.