Fiddlers Ferry power station

Fiddlers Ferry power station
Fiddlers Ferry power station Viewed from the east in January 2006
Location of Fiddlers Ferry power station in Cheshire
Country	England
Location	Warrington
Coordinates	53°22′19″N 2°41′13″W / 53.372°N 2.687°W / 53.372; -2.687Coordinates: 53°22′19″N 2°41′13″W / 53.372°N 2.687°W / 53.372; -2.687
Status	Operational
Commission date	1971
Operator(s)	Central Electricity Generating Board (1971–1990) Powergen (1990–1999) Edison Mission Energy (1999–2001) AEP Energy Services Ltd (2001–2004) Scottish and Southern Energy (2004–present)
Thermal power station
Primary fuel	Coal
Secondary fuel	Biomass
Power generation
Nameplate capacity	1,989 MW
grid reference SJ544863

Fiddlers Ferry Power Station is a coal fired power station located in Warrington, Cheshire, in North West England, which is capable of co-firing biomass. It is situated on the north bank of the River Mersey between the towns of Widnes and Warrington. Opened in 1971, the station has a generating capacity of 1,989 megawatts (MW). In a bid to combine efforts at the design and construction stages the Boiler and Turbo-generator plant were replicated at West Burton power station located between Retford and Gainsborough in North Nottinghamshire.

Since the privatisation of the Central Electricity Generating Board in 1990, the station has been operated by various companies. Since 2004, Scottish and Southern Energy plc have operated the station.

With its eight 114-metre (374 ft) high cooling towers and 200-metre (660 ft) high chimney the station is a prominent landmark and can be seen from as far away as the Peak District and the Pennines.

Fiddlers Ferry power station was built by the Cleveland Bridge Company and came into full operation in 1973. One of the station's cooling towers collapsed in high winds on 13 January 1984. It has since been rebuilt.

The station was built by the CEGB but was transferred to Powergen PLC after privatisation of the UK's electricity industry in 1990. Fiddlers Ferry, along with Ferrybridge Power Station in Yorkshire, was then sold to Edison Mission Energy in 1999. They were then sold on to AEP Energy Services Ltd in 2001, and both were sold again in July 2004 to Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) for £136 million.