Methil power station
Encyclopedia
Methil Power Station was a small base load coal slurry-fired power station
in the town of Methil, Fife
, Scotland
. It was situated on the south side of the mouth of the River Leven
, where the river enters the Firth of Forth
.
It was a local landmark, with the chimney (lum) visible for some distance.
(MW) generation units for a peak rating of 57 MWe
. It was commissioned in 1965 for the then South of Scotland Electricity Board
. Built on the site of a golf course
, it was constructed to utilise low-grade coal-slurry supplied from the washeries of the nearby Fife coalfield. This coal was delivered by both road and rail wagons shunted into and out of elevated sidings. Like nearly all other coal-fired power stations in Scotland, Methil Power Station didn't use cooling towers, instead using sea water as coolant. An exception was Methil's sister station of Barony, situated in central Ayrshire.
This station was built as a sister to Barony Power Station on the West Coast of Scotland, in Ayrshire
. Although the design of Methil was based on that of Barony, it incorporated many improvements. As the Scottish coalfields were exhausted or abandoned in the mid-1980s, waste accumulated in coal tips, and this waste was used as a fuel in the Methil and Barony power stations. However, as the tips were cleared, operations at the two stations ceased due to lack of coal-slurry fuel and the uneconomical operation of such small facilities. In the late 1990s it was used for trial burning of sewage waste using one of the two 30 MW boiler.
This station was decomissioned in 2000 and finally demolished in 2011 as part of a regeneration of this area. The preferred redevelopment option for the site is for leisure and tourism. A development of a retail park or shopping centre is also being considered.
Fossil fuel power plant
A fossil-fuel power station is a power station that burns fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas or petroleum to produce electricity. Central station fossil-fuel power plants are designed on a large scale for continuous operation...
in the town of Methil, Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It was situated on the south side of the mouth of the River Leven
River Leven, Fife
The River Leven is a river in Fife in Scotland. It flows from Loch Leven into the Firth of Forth at the town of Leven. The river is home to brown trout and hosts a run of sea trout and atlantic salmon...
, where the river enters the Firth of Forth
Firth of Forth
The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...
.
It was a local landmark, with the chimney (lum) visible for some distance.
Design
The power station consisted of two 30 megawattWatt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
(MW) generation units for a peak rating of 57 MWe
MWE
MWE may refer to:*Manufacturer's Weight Empty*McDermott Will & Emery*Midwest Express, an airline*Merowe Airport - IATA code*Multiword expressionMWe may refer to:*Megawatt electrical...
. It was commissioned in 1965 for the then South of Scotland Electricity Board
South of Scotland Electricity Board
The South of Scotland Electricity Board , was formed as a result of the Electricity Reorganisation Act 1954. On 1 April 1955, the two southern Scottish Area Electricity Boards were merged into the South of Scotland Electricity Board...
. Built on the site of a golf course
Golf course
A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...
, it was constructed to utilise low-grade coal-slurry supplied from the washeries of the nearby Fife coalfield. This coal was delivered by both road and rail wagons shunted into and out of elevated sidings. Like nearly all other coal-fired power stations in Scotland, Methil Power Station didn't use cooling towers, instead using sea water as coolant. An exception was Methil's sister station of Barony, situated in central Ayrshire.
History
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
. Although the design of Methil was based on that of Barony, it incorporated many improvements. As the Scottish coalfields were exhausted or abandoned in the mid-1980s, waste accumulated in coal tips, and this waste was used as a fuel in the Methil and Barony power stations. However, as the tips were cleared, operations at the two stations ceased due to lack of coal-slurry fuel and the uneconomical operation of such small facilities. In the late 1990s it was used for trial burning of sewage waste using one of the two 30 MW boiler.
This station was decomissioned in 2000 and finally demolished in 2011 as part of a regeneration of this area. The preferred redevelopment option for the site is for leisure and tourism. A development of a retail park or shopping centre is also being considered.