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Grimsby power station

Coordinates: 53°33′47″N 00°04′57″W / 53.56306°N 0.08250°W / 53.56306; -0.08250
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Grimsby power station
Map
CountryEngland
LocationGrimsby
Coordinates53°33′47″N 00°04′57″W / 53.56306°N 0.08250°W / 53.56306; -0.08250
StatusDecommissioned and demolished
Commission date1901
Decommission dateLate 1960s
OwnersGrimsby Corporation
(1894–1948)
British Electricity Authority
(1948–1955)
Central Electricity Authority
(1955–1957)
Central Electricity Generating Board
(1958–1970)
OperatorAs owner
Thermal power station
Primary fuelCoal
Secondary fuelFuel oil
Turbine technologySteam turbines
Chimneys5
Cooling towers3 x wood, 3 x concrete
Cooling sourceCooling towers
Power generation
Units operational1 x 3 MW, 2 x 10 MW, 1 x 15 MW
Make and modelMetropolitan-Vickers, Brush-Ljungstrom
Units decommissionedAll
Nameplate capacity38 MW
Annual net output128 GWh (1954)

Grimsby power station supplied electricity to the town of Grimsby, England and the surrounded area from 1901 to the late 1960s. It was owned and operated by Grimsby Corporation prior to the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948.  The power station was redeveloped in the 1920s and 1930s to meet the increased demand for electricity.

History

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In 1894 Grimsby Corporation applied for a Provisional Order under the Electric Lighting Acts to generate and supply electricity to the town. This was granted by the Board of Trade and was confirmed by Parliament through the Electric Lighting Orders Confirmation (No. 2) Act 1894 (57 & 58 Vict. c. l).[1] The power station was built in Moss Road Grimsby (53°33'47"N 0°04'57"W)[2] and it first supplied electricity in 1901.

Equipment specification

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The initial installation of plant in 1901 had a rating of 460 kW.[3]

Plant in 1923

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By 1923 the generating plant comprised:[4]

  • Coal-fired boilers generating up to 107,000 lb/h (13.5 kg/s) of steam which was supplied to:
  • Generators:

These machines gave a total generating capacity of 2,500 kW of alternating current plus 2,420 kW direct current.[4]

Electricity supplies to consumers were 460 & 230 Volts DC.[4]

Plant in 1924–39

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New plant was commissioned in 1924, 1929, 1932 and 1939. This comprised:[3]

  • Boilers:
    • 2 × Clarke Chapman 70,000 lb/h (8.8 kg/s), steam conditions 250 psi and 700°F (17.2 bar, 371°C),
    • 3 × Clarke Chapman 95,000 lb/h (12.0 kg/s), steam conditions  250 psi and 755°F (17.2 bar, 402°C),

The boilers supplied steam to:

  • Turbo-alternators:
    • 1 × 3 MW Metropolitan-Vickers turbo-alternator, generating at 6.6 kV
    • 2 × 10 MW Metropolitan-Vickers turbo-alternators, generating at 6.6 kV
    • 1 × 15 MW Brush-Ljungstrom turbo-alternator, generating at 6.6 kV.

The completed total installed generating capacity was 38 MW.[3]

Condenser cooling water was cooled in three wood and three concrete cooling towers with a combined capacity of 2.47 million gallons per hour (3.12 m3/s).[3] [5]

In 1960 internal combustion engines was installed at Grimsby power station with a capacity of 2.0 MW.[3]

Operations

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Operating data 1921–23

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The operating data for the period 1921–23 was:[4]

Grimsby power station operating data 1921–23
Electricity Use Units Year
1921 1922 1923
Lighting and domestic use MWh 1,484 1,539 1,657
Public lighting use MWh 283 292 321
Traction MWh 638 553 597
Power use MWh 1,634 2,888 4,772
Total use MWh 4,039 5,273 7,347
Load and connected load
Maximum load kW 2,327 2,914 3,330
Total connections kW 8,702 10,818 10,268
Load factor Per cent 25.4 28.4 34.9
Financial
Revenue from sales of current £ 78,899 77,418
Surplus of revenue over expenses £ 28,316 3,300

Under the terms of the Electricity (Supply) Act 1926 (16 & 17 Geo. 5 c. 51)[6] the Central Electricity Board (CEB) was established in 1926.[7] The CEB identified high efficiency ‘selected’ power stations that would supply electricity most effectively; Grimsby was able to improve its performance efficiency sufficiently to be designated a CEB selected station.[8] The CEB also constructed the national grid (1927–33) to connect power stations within a region.[7]

Operating data 1946

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Grimsby power station operating data for 1946 is:[9]

Year Load factor per cent Max output load MW Electricity supplied MWh Thermal efficiency per cent
1946 32.2 20,013 56,392 15.6

The British electricity supply industry was nationalised in 1948 under the provisions of the Electricity Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. 6 c. 54).[10] The Grimsby electricity undertaking was abolished, ownership of Grimsby power station was vested in the British Electricity Authority, and subsequently the Central Electricity Authority and the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB).[7] At the same time the electricity distribution and sales responsibilities of the Grimsby electricity undertaking were transferred to the Yorkshire Electricity Board (YEB).

Operating data 1954–67

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Operating data for the period 1954–67 was:[3][11]

Grimsby power station (steam plant) operating data, 1954–67
Year Running hours or load factor (per cent) Max output capacity  MW Electricity supplied GWh Thermal efficiency per cent
1954 8385                     34 128.189 17.39
1955 6577 34 82.521 15.96
1956 6033 34 76.041 16.33
1957 5936 34 73.944 16.26
1958 6448 34 107.529 16.45
1961 33.8 % 34 100.528 16.57
1962 41.5 % 34 123.492 17.03
1963 43.11% 34 128.386 16.40
1967 18.1 % 35 53.878 15.39

The operating data for the internal combustion engines was:[3]

Year Load factor per cent Max output capacity  MW Electricity supplied GWh Thermal efficiency per cent
1961 16.0 2 0.608 29.72
1962 16.9 2 2.964 34.89
1963 18.47 2 3.236 33.54
1967 10.9 2 1.910 31.65

Grimsby was an electricity supply district, covering 350 square miles (906 km2) of north Lincolnshire with a population of  171,000 in 1958. The number of consumers and electricity sold in the Grimsby district was:[3]

Year 1956 1957 1958
Number of consumers 56,017 57,672 58,936
Electricity sold MWh 218,435 246,842 278,508

Closure

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Grimsby power station was decommissioned in the late 1960s.[12] The buildings were subsequently demolished and the area has been redeveloped with industrial and commercial units.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Local Acts 1894". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  2. ^ Ordnance Survey 25 inch England and Wales, Lincolnshire XXII.11 (Grimsby) revised 1905, published 1908.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Garrett, Frederick (1959). Garcke's Manual of Electricity Supply vol. 56. London: Electrical Press. pp. A-58 A-121 B-168–9.
  4. ^ a b c d Electricity Commissioners (1925). Electricity Supply – 1920–23. London: HMSO. pp. 38–41, 278–83.
  5. ^ "Moss Road Power Station, Grimsby, 1953". britainfromabove.org.uk. 1953. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  6. ^ "Electricity (Supply) Act 1926". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  7. ^ a b c Electricity Council (1987). Electricity supply in the United Kingdom: a Chronology. London: Electricity Council. pp. 45, 60, 69, 73. ISBN 085188105X.
  8. ^ Hannah, Leslie (1979). Electricity before Nationalisation. London: Macmillan. p. 111. ISBN 0333220862.
  9. ^ Electricity Commissioners (1947). Generation of Electricity in Great Britain year ended 31 December 1946. London: HMSO. p. 9.
  10. ^ "Electricity Act 1947". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  11. ^ CEGB Annual report and Accounts, 1961, 1962 & 1963
  12. ^ Grimsby power station appears in the CEGB Annual report 1963 but is not in the CEGB Statistical Yearbook 1972