Thorpe Marsh Power Station
Thorpe Marsh power station's cooling towers
CountryEngland
LocationSouth Yorkshire, Yorkshire and the Humber
Coordinates53°34′50″N 1°05′07″W / 53.580602°N 1.08534°W / 53.580602; -1.08534
Construction began1959
Commission date1963[1]
Decommission date1994
Operator(s)Central Electricity Generating Board
Thermal power station
Primary fuelCoal
Tertiary fuelHeavy Fuel Oil
Power generation
Nameplate capacity1,100 MW
External links
CommonsRelated media on Commons

grid reference SE605097

Thorpe Marsh Power Station was a 1 GW coal-fired power station near Barnby Dun in South Yorkshire, England. The station was commissioned in 1963 and closed in 1994.[2] In 2011, permission was given for the construction of a gas-fired power station on the site.

History

Construction and operation, (1959–1994)

Construction of the station began in 1959;[3] it was built as a prototype for all the large modern power stations in the UK. It was commissioned between 1963 and 1965.[4] Thorpe Marsh was one of the CEGB's twenty steam power stations with the highest thermal efficiency; in 1963–4 the thermal efficiency was 31.50 per cent, 32.76 per cent in 1964–5, and 33.09 per cent in 1965–6.[5]

There were 2 × 28 MW auxiliary gas turbines on the site, these had been commissioned in December 1966.[6]

The plant was officially opened in 1967.[7]

The station contained two 550 MW generating units with cross compound turbines, supplied from a single boiler. Steam was supplied at 16,000 kPa (2,300 psi) at 566 °C (1,050 °F).[8]

The annual electricity output of Thorpe Marsh was:[5]

Electricity output of Thorpe Marsh
Year 1963–4 1964–5 1965–6 1966–7 1971–2 1978–9 1981–2
Electricity supplied, GWh 581 1,697 1,803 2,804 3,660 3,750 4,296

On 7 January 1973, four workmen died. A coroner's report gave a verdict of accidental death; subsequently the Factory Inspectorate began legal proceedings against the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) for breaches in safety provisions.[9]

After the privatisation of the CEGB in 1990, the station was operated by National Power. The station subsequently closed in 1994.[4][10]

Post closure (1994–)

The 45 ha (110 acres) site was acquired by Able UK in 1995.[11]

During the 2007 United Kingdom floods, the 400 kV substation at the site was temporarily shut down on 27 June, whilst the 275 kV substation was not affected; operational service was fully restored by early 28 June.[12]

In October 2011, the Department of Energy and Climate Change approved the construction of a 1,500 MW combined cycle gas turbine power station at Thorpe Marsh by Thorpe Marsh Power Limited (parent Acorn Power Developments, see Acorn Energy) with an estimated cost of £984 million.[13][14][15] Thorpe Marsh Power Limited proposed an initial capacity of 960 MW.[15] The proposed development would also require the construction of an 18 km (11 mi) gas pipeline from Camblesforth;[16] Thorpe Marsh Power Limited is expected to submit an application for the gas pipeline in late 2014.[16]

Able UK demolished the original power station's cooling towers in 2012.[17]

In 2022 plans were unveiled to build a 1.4 GW Battery Energy Storage System on the site, named the "Thorpe Marsh Energy Park".[18] Local news sources have highlighted the project's potential in repurposing the old power station's infrastructure.[19]

References

  1. ↑ "Nostalgia on Tuesday: Towering presence". The Yorkshire Post. 19 June 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  2. ↑ "Thorpe Marsh CCGT Power Station – Environment Statement" (PDF). September 2010. p. 203. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  3. ↑ "Barnby Dun Village History". Barnby Dun Community Association. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Generation disconnections since 1991". National Grid. 2003. Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
  5. 1 2 CEGB (1966). CEGB Statistical Yearbooks 1964, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1982. London: CEGB. pp. 26, 26, 20.
  6. ↑ The Electricity Council (1990). Handbook of Electricity Supply Statistics. London: The Electricity Council. p. 8. ISBN 085188122X.
  7. ↑ "Site-Assembled Transformer". Engineering. London: Centaur Media. 203: 775. 1967. ISSN 0013-7758.
  8. ↑ "Electricity Supply in the UK: A chronology" (PDF). Electricity Council. c. 1987. 1963, p.87. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  9. ↑ "Thorpe Marsh Power Station (Workmen's Deaths)". Hansard – Written Answers (Commons). 852. c42W. 5 March 1973.
  10. ↑ "Thorpe Marsh Power Station". Hansard – House of Commons. 226. cc968-74. 16 June 1993.
  11. ↑ "Thorpe Marsh". Able UK. Archived from the original on 19 September 2008. Retrieved 26 August 2008.
  12. ↑ Flooding: Fifth Report of Session 2007–08. Vol. 2: Oral and Written Evidence. House of Commons. Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee. 7 May 2008. Ev 309–310, §20–33, "Memorandum Submitted by National Grid (FL 80). ISBN 978-0-215-51488-2.
  13. ↑ "Two power plants to create 1,000 jobs in Yorkshire". BBC News. 31 October 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  14. ↑ "Thorpe Marsh may be first UK Flexefficiency application". Modern Power Systems. 9 November 2011. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  15. 1 2 "Department of Energy and Climate Change Construction and Operation of a Combined Cycle Gas Turbine Electricity Generating Station at the Thorpe Marsh, Barnby Dun, Doncaster" (PDF). www.og.decc.gov.uk. 31 October 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 December 2011. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  16. 1 2 "Thorpe Marsh Gas Pipeline". infrastructure.planningportal.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 27 August 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  17. ↑ "ABLE Thorpe Marsh". Able UK. Archived from the original on 4 October 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  18. ↑ "One of world's largest battery hubs could store North Sea wind power at old UK coal plant". Recharge News. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  19. ↑ "Plans for former Thorpe Marsh Power Station to be turned into green energy hub". Doncaster Free Press. Retrieved 14 October 2023.

Further reading

  • Thorpe Marsh 1965. A guide to Thorpe Marsh Power Station. CEGB. 1965.
  • "Thorpe Marsh". CEGB. 1967.
  • Millar, John (June 1993). "The lights go out at Thorpe Marsh power station". Rail Magazine.
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