West Burton Power Station
Encyclopedia
The West Burton power stations are a pair of power stations on the River Trent
near Gainsborough
, in Nottinghamshire
, England
, located between Bole
to the north and Sturton le Steeple
to the south. One is a coal-fired power station
, which was commissioned in 1968, and the second is a combined cycle gas turbine power station, due to be commissioned in 2011. Both stations are owned and operated by EDF Energy
.
The site is the furthest north of series of power stations in the Trent valley, being 3.5 miles (5.6 km) downstream of the Cottam power stations. The Sheffield to Lincoln Line
supplies the station with coal.
of West Burton. The station was commissioned between 1967 and 1968. It was originally operated by the CEGB
and then run by National Power
after privatisation, until April 1996 when it was bought by the Eastern Group
which became TXU Europe. In November 2001 when the price of electricity was low and TXU Europe had severe financial problems, it was bought by the London Power Company for £366 million. The station is now run by EDF Energy
.
In June 2000, work began on the fitting of flue gas desulphurisation
(FGD) equipment at the station. FLS Miljo installed the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
wet limestone systems, while Arup Energy
and Mowlem
took up a design–build partnership to undertake the civil works and construction of infrastructure. The work was completed in October 2003, and had a total cost of £100 million.
Separated over-fire air (SOFA) burners were installed on all four of the station's units in 2007 to meet European Union nitrogen oxide
emission legislation. The burners were installed by GE Energy.
The station also has a Discovery Centre to educate local school children. It has the oldest mound of FGD gypsum in the UK, part of an experiment set up by CEGB scientists in 1988.
, comes from the Welbeck colliery at Meden Vale
. This will only be until 2009, when its coal is expected to run out. The station's other supplier, Thoresby colliery, is expected to last longer. The station connects to the National Grid, like most similar sized coal power stations, via a transformer
and substation
at 400 kV. The chimneys of West Burton Power Station are 200 metres (656.2 ft) tall.
The station generates electricity using four 500 megawatt English Electric
turbo generator
s. These are provided with steam by International Combustion
boilers, fueled by bituminous coal
.
power station, which will run on natural gas
, is currently being built next to the coal-fired station. Construction by the Kier Group
started in January 2008. It is being built on land originally allocated for a proposed 1,800 MW West Burton 'B' coal power station that was to have been built in the 1980s. Privatisation of the electricity industry in 1990 cancelled this scheme. It will be finished in 2011, and will supply electricity to around 1.5 million homes. A new 12 mi (19.3 km) gas pipeline
is being built to link to the National Gas Transmission System at Grayingham
in Lincolnshire. Around 1,000 people are involved in the construction. The plant will consist of three 430 MW gas turbine
s each with a heat recovery steam generator.(design and supply an Italian company)
River Trent
The River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...
near Gainsborough
Gainsborough, Lincolnshire
Gainsborough is a town 15 miles north-west of Lincoln on the River Trent within the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. At one time it served as an important port with trade downstream to Hull, and was the most inland in England, being more than 55 miles from the North...
, in Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, located between Bole
Bole, Nottinghamshire
Bole is a village and civil parish in the Bassetlaw district of Nottinghamshire, England. It is close by the River Trent, on the eastern side of which is Gainsborough in Lincolnshire. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 140...
to the north and Sturton le Steeple
Sturton le Steeple
Sturton le Steeple is a village in Nottinghamshire, England. It is located 6 miles east of Retford. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 497.The parish church of St Peter and St Paul has a 14th century tower with 12 pinnacles...
to the south. One is a coal-fired power station
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...
, which was commissioned in 1968, and the second is a combined cycle gas turbine power station, due to be commissioned in 2011. Both stations are owned and operated by EDF Energy
EDF Energy
EDF Energy is an integrated energy company in the United Kingdom, with operations spanning electricity generation and the sale of gas and electricity to homes and businesses throughout the United Kingdom...
.
The site is the furthest north of series of power stations in the Trent valley, being 3.5 miles (5.6 km) downstream of the Cottam power stations. The Sheffield to Lincoln Line
Sheffield to Lincoln Line
The Sheffield to Lincoln line is a railway line in England. It runs from Sheffield east to Lincoln via Worksop, Retford and Gainsborough Lea Road. The route comprises the main line of the former Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway, to Gainsborough, Trent Junction, where it then follows...
supplies the station with coal.
History
It is built on the site of the deserted medieval villageDeserted medieval village
In the United Kingdom, a deserted medieval village is a former settlement which was abandoned during the Middle Ages, typically leaving no trace apart from earthworks or cropmarks. If there are fewer than three inhabited houses the convention is to regard the site as deserted; if there are more...
of West Burton. The station was commissioned between 1967 and 1968. It was originally operated by the CEGB
CEGB
The Central Electricity Generating Board was the cornerstone of the British electricity industry for almost 40 years; from 1957, to privatisation in the 1990s....
and then run by National Power
National Power
- History :National Power was formed following the privatisation of the UK electricity market in 1990. In England and Wales the Central Electricity Generating Board, which was responsible for the generation and transmission of electricity was split into three generating companies Powergen, National...
after privatisation, until April 1996 when it was bought by the Eastern Group
Eastern Electricity
Eastern Electricity was an electricity supply and distribution utility serving eastern England, including East Anglia and part of Greater London...
which became TXU Europe. In November 2001 when the price of electricity was low and TXU Europe had severe financial problems, it was bought by the London Power Company for £366 million. The station is now run by EDF Energy
EDF Energy
EDF Energy is an integrated energy company in the United Kingdom, with operations spanning electricity generation and the sale of gas and electricity to homes and businesses throughout the United Kingdom...
.
In June 2000, work began on the fitting of flue gas desulphurisation
Flue gas desulfurization
Sulfur dioxide is one of the elements forming acid rain. Tall flue-gas stacks disperse emissions by diluting the pollutants in ambient air and transporting them to other regions....
(FGD) equipment at the station. FLS Miljo installed the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
, or MHI, is a Japanese company. It is one of the core companies of Mitsubishi Group.-History:In 1870 Yataro Iwasaki, the founder of Mitsubishi took a lease of Government-owned Nagasaki Shipyard. He named it Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works, and started the shipbuilding business on a full scale...
wet limestone systems, while Arup Energy
Arup
Arup is a global professional services firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom which provides engineering, design, planning, project management and consulting services for all aspects of the built environment. The firm is present in Africa, the Americas, Australasia, East Asia, Europe and the...
and Mowlem
Mowlem
Mowlem was one of the largest construction and civil engineering companies in the United Kingdom. Carillion bought the firm in 2006.-History:Founded by John Mowlem in 1822, the company was awarded a Royal Warrant in 1902 and went public on the London Stock Exchange in 1924. It acquired SGB Group in...
took up a design–build partnership to undertake the civil works and construction of infrastructure. The work was completed in October 2003, and had a total cost of £100 million.
Separated over-fire air (SOFA) burners were installed on all four of the station's units in 2007 to meet European Union nitrogen oxide
Nitrogen oxide
Nitrogen oxide can refer to a binary compound of oxygen and nitrogen, or a mixture of such compounds:* Nitric oxide, also known as nitrogen monoxide, , nitrogen oxide* Nitrogen dioxide , nitrogen oxide...
emission legislation. The burners were installed by GE Energy.
The station also has a Discovery Centre to educate local school children. It has the oldest mound of FGD gypsum in the UK, part of an experiment set up by CEGB scientists in 1988.
Specification
The power station provides electricity for around two million people, and is situated on a 410 acres (1.7 km²) site. Coal for the power station, like CottamCottam Power Station
The Cottam power stations are a pair of power stations, located on the River Trent at Cottam near Retford in Nottinghamshire. The largest of the two is a coal-fired power station, which was commissioned in 1969 by the Central Electricity Generating Board, and has a generating capacity of 1,970...
, comes from the Welbeck colliery at Meden Vale
Meden Vale
Meden Vale or MV as it is known locally is a small mining village situated in Nottinghamshire, England, close to the town of Market Warsop. It is located between Mansfield and Worksop...
. This will only be until 2009, when its coal is expected to run out. The station's other supplier, Thoresby colliery, is expected to last longer. The station connects to the National Grid, like most similar sized coal power stations, via a transformer
Transformer
A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another through inductively coupled conductors—the transformer's coils. A varying current in the first or primary winding creates a varying magnetic flux in the transformer's core and thus a varying magnetic field...
and substation
Electrical substation
A substation is a part of an electrical generation, transmission, and distribution system. Substations transform voltage from high to low, or the reverse, or perform any of several other important functions...
at 400 kV. The chimneys of West Burton Power Station are 200 metres (656.2 ft) tall.
The station generates electricity using four 500 megawatt English Electric
English Electric
English Electric was a British industrial manufacturer. Founded in 1918, it initially specialised in industrial electric motors and transformers...
turbo generator
Turbo generator
A turbo generator is a turbine directly connected to an electric generator for the generation of electric power. Large steam powered turbo generators provide the majority of the world's electricity and are also used by steam powered turbo-electric ships.Smaller turbo-generators with gas turbines...
s. These are provided with steam by International Combustion
International Combustion
International Combustion Limited was a major manufacturing business based in Derby offering products for the nuclear engineering industry. International Combustion Australia Limited was a separate non-affiliated company.-History:...
boilers, fueled by bituminous coal
Bituminous coal
Bituminous coal or black coal is a relatively soft coal containing a tarlike substance called bitumen. It is of higher quality than lignite coal but of poorer quality than Anthracite...
.
Combined cycle gas turbine power station
A £600 million 1,270 MWe CCGTCombined cycle
In electric power generation a combined cycle is an assembly of heat engines that work in tandem off the same source of heat, converting it into mechanical energy, which in turn usually drives electrical generators...
power station, which will run on natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
, is currently being built next to the coal-fired station. Construction by the Kier Group
Kier Group
Kier Group plc is a construction, services and property group active in building and civil engineering, support services, public and private housebuilding, land development and the Private Finance Initiative...
started in January 2008. It is being built on land originally allocated for a proposed 1,800 MW West Burton 'B' coal power station that was to have been built in the 1980s. Privatisation of the electricity industry in 1990 cancelled this scheme. It will be finished in 2011, and will supply electricity to around 1.5 million homes. A new 12 mi (19.3 km) gas pipeline
Pipeline transport
Pipeline transport is the transportation of goods through a pipe. Most commonly, liquids and gases are sent, but pneumatic tubes that transport solid capsules using compressed air are also used....
is being built to link to the National Gas Transmission System at Grayingham
Grayingham
Grayingham is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies near Kirton in Lindsey, about north-east from Gainsborough and south of Scunthorpe....
in Lincolnshire. Around 1,000 people are involved in the construction. The plant will consist of three 430 MW gas turbine
Gas turbine
A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of internal combustion engine. It has an upstream rotating compressor coupled to a downstream turbine, and a combustion chamber in-between....
s each with a heat recovery steam generator.(design and supply an Italian company)