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Thorpe Marsh Power Station

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Coordinates: 53°34′50″N 1°05′07″W / 53.580602°N 1.08534°W / 53.580602; -1.08534
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Thorpe Marsh Power Station
Thorpe Marsh power station's cooling towers
Map
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
OperatorsCentral Electricity Generating Board
(1963-1990)
National Power
(1990-1994)
Thermal power station
Primary fuelCoal
Tertiary fuelHeavy Fuel Oil
Power generation
Nameplate capacity1,100 MW
External links
CommonsRelated media on Commons
[edit on Wikidata]

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

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Construction and operation, (1959–1994)

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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–)

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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

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  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. ^ a b "Generation disconnections since 1991". National Grid. 2003. Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
  5. ^ a b 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. 203. London: Centaur Media: 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. ^ a b "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. ^ a b "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

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  • 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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