Barking Power Station
| Barking Power Station | |
|---|---|
Barking Reach Power Station
Viewed from the south in October 2007 |
|
| Country | England |
| Location | Greater London |
| Coordinates | 51°31′16″N 0°08′49″E / 51.5210°N 0.1470°ECoordinates: 51°31′16″N 0°08′49″E / 51.5210°N 0.1470°E |
| Commission date | 1897 |
| Operator(s) | Barking Town Urban District Council (1897-1927) County of London Electric Supply Company (1925-1948) British Electricity Authority (1948-1955) Central Electricity Authority (1955-1957) Central Electricity Generating Board (1957-1981) Thames Power Services (1995-present) |
| Thermal power station | |
| Primary fuel | Natural gas-fired |
| Tertiary fuel | Coal-fired |
| Power generation | |
| Nameplate capacity | 220 MW & 144 MW |
| grid reference TQ4893882469 | |
Barking Power Station refers to a series of power stations at former and current sites within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham in east London. The original power station site, of the coal-fired A, B and C stations, was at River Road, Creekmouth, on the north bank of the River Thames. These stations were decommissioned by the end of the 1980s and have since been demolished. The current gas-fired power station (originally generally known as Barking Reach Power Station) was built further down the Thames near Dagenham Dock in the early 1990s. The site of the former power stations is being redeveloped as Barking Riverside.
Prior to the construction of Barking A Power Station, Barking Town Urban District Council operated its own small power station near its offices from 1897 until its closure in 1927. In 1920, the County of London Electric Supply Company applied for permission to build a power station at Creekmouth in Barking capable of expansion to 600 MW. The Barking A Station had 8 C. A. Parsons turbo-generators (4 x 40 MW and 4 X 20 MW) and 22 boilers, plus 2 dedicated reheat boilers. These were in two boiler houses, one being all chain grate boilers (6 B&W and 6 Yarrow) and the other being all pulverised fuel boilers (I.C.L.). Barking Power Station opened in 1925, and in 1927 it took over from the Barking Town Urban District Council station, providing a bulk electricity supply.When completed, the A station was the largest power station in Britain to have been built as a complete station at one time. The Yarrow boilers were scrapped in the early 1950s, their capacity being replaced by steam from the B station via a steam line and suitable regulating equipment. The pulverised fuel boilers were converted to oil firing around 1964.
The site of the power station was chosen for easy delivery of coal from the Thames and by rail, as well as the abundant water supply and space on the site for expansion. A cable tunnel was constructed under the river to supply the south bank with electricity.
Barking's original A station was extended by the building of the B station, which began to operate at full capacity in 1939. The capacity of the B Station was 303 MW with 4 x 75 MW B.T.H. turbo-generators plus a small house generator of 3.5 MW capacity. Steam conditions were 600 psig and 800'F. The B Station had 16 B&W chain grate boilers, each capable of producing 256,000 lbs steam per hour. These were arranged in two boiler houses, with 8 boilers in each. The power station was transferred to the London Division of the British Electricity Authority in 1948. The B station closed on 15 March 1976, at which time its generating capacity was 144 megawatts.
...
Wikipedia