Carville Power Station

Carville power stations
Carville A (left) and B (right) power stations viewed in the 1930s
Location of Carville power stations in Tyne and Wear
Official name	Carville A and B power stations
Country	England
Location	Wallsend
Coordinates	54°59′20″N 1°31′30″W / 54.98889°N 1.52500°W / 54.98889; -1.52500Coordinates: 54°59′20″N 1°31′30″W / 54.98889°N 1.52500°W / 54.98889; -1.52500
Commission date	1904, 07 (A station) 1916 (B station)
Decommission date	1932 (A station) 1950s (B station)
Owner(s)	Newcastle-upon-Tyne Electric Supply Company British Electricity Authority Central Electricity Authority Central Electricity Generating Board
Thermal power station
Primary fuel	Coal
Power generation
Units operational	A station: 2x 3.5 MW Parsons 2x 1.5 MW Parsons 3x 5 MW Parsons B station: 5x 11 MW Parsons
Nameplate capacity	10 MW (A station 1904) 25 MW (A station 1907) 55 MW (B station 1916)
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Carville Power Station refers to a pair of now partially demolished coal-fired power stations, situated in North East England on the north bank of the River Tyne at Wallsend. The two stations were built alongside each other on a riverside site about 5 mi (8.0 km) downstream of Newcastle upon Tyne. Carville A Power Station, the first station on the site was opened in 1904, and Carville B Power Station was opened in 1916 to its south.

The stations were a major factor in increasing the productivity of the neighbouring shipyards, which became some of the biggest in the world, as well as benefiting the nearby engineering works and coal mines by providing them with a cheap and reliable source of electricity. It also played a major role in enabling the electrification of the Tyneside railways and tramways.

The station's design set the pattern for power station layout and design for most of the early twentieth century, as it was the first in the world to use the "unit system" of layout, whereby each boiler and turbine generating set is directly connected electrically to an alternator, and can work independently from any other generating unit in the station. At various times the stations were the largest in the UK.

The Newcastle-upon-Tyne Electric Supply Company (NESCo) built their first power station at Pandon Dene in 1890. As electricity demand grew they moved their main generating site to Neptune Bank, near Wallsend in 1901. Once again, as demand grew, they ran out of space for further development at this site and so built another new generating station in the Carville area of Wallsend. The new station was built on a 15 acres (6.1 ha) site with frontage to the River Tyne. The Carville station was built so as to be available for very large extensions. It was opened in 1904, and at the time was the largest power station in the United Kingdom.

Prior to the First World War, the station was the site of NESCo's first Control Room for the efficient central control of their power stations and substations. The idea attracted considerable interest from power supply engineers from around the world, leading to it becoming common practice amongst all the large electricity authorities in England.