West Thurrock Power Station
Encyclopedia
West Thurrock Power Station was a coal-fired power station
on the River Thames
at Stone Ness, West Thurrock
in Essex
. The station was close to the northern end of the 380kV Thames Crossing
of the National Grid.
site. Construction, which included the piling and landfilling of the marshy riverside, took several years; starting in 1957 until it was opened in 1962. The station had two 175 m (574.1 ft) tall chimneys made from reinforced concrete. Later conversion work allowed the station to burn oil
and natural gas
as well as coal.
After the UK's
electric supply industry was privatised in 1989, it was operated by National Power
. In 1992, one of the station's units were decommissioned. The station's other four units were decommissioned in 1993. The closure left a stockpile of nearly half a million tonnes of coal, which was transported downstream to the nearby Tilbury Power Station
by Rhine barge.
After demolition part of the site was redeveloped as a works making industrial chemicals for the adjacent Procter & Gamble
works and utilising the former coaling jetty. A proposal to build a large postal sorting office
on the former fly-ash lagoons proved controversial due to the wildlife that had colonised the site.
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...
on the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
at Stone Ness, West Thurrock
West Thurrock
West Thurrock is a traditional Church of England parish and town in Thurrock, Essex, England, located 17.5 miles east south-east of Charing Cross, London.-Location:...
in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. The station was close to the northern end of the 380kV Thames Crossing
380kV Thames Crossing
There are a number of substantial overhead powerline river crossings in the United Kingdom.The tallest electricity pylons in the UK are those of the 380kV Thames Crossing, at West Thurrock, which are 190 m high. These were constructed by BICC in 1965...
of the National Grid.
History
The station was built by the Central Electricity Generating Board and unlike most of the power stations further up the Thames, West Thurrock was built in the 1950s and on a green fieldGreenfield land
Greenfield land is a term used to describe undeveloped land in a city or rural area either used for agriculture, landscape design, or left to naturally evolve...
site. Construction, which included the piling and landfilling of the marshy riverside, took several years; starting in 1957 until it was opened in 1962. The station had two 175 m (574.1 ft) tall chimneys made from reinforced concrete. Later conversion work allowed the station to burn oil
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
and 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...
as well as coal.
After the UK's
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
electric supply industry was privatised in 1989, it was operated 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...
. In 1992, one of the station's units were decommissioned. The station's other four units were decommissioned in 1993. The closure left a stockpile of nearly half a million tonnes of coal, which was transported downstream to the nearby Tilbury Power Station
Tilbury Power Station
The Tilbury power stations refer to a series of two power stations on the north bank of the River Thames at Tilbury, in Essex, England. The 1,428 MW Tilbury B Power Station has operated since 1967 and fires coal, as well as co-firing oil and biomass. The former oil-fired 360 megawatts ...
by Rhine barge.
After demolition part of the site was redeveloped as a works making industrial chemicals for the adjacent Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....
works and utilising the former coaling jetty. A proposal to build a large postal sorting office
Sorting office
Sorting office or Processing and Distribution Center is any location where postal operators bring mail after collection for sorting into batches for delivery to the addressee, which may be a direct delivery or sent onwards to another regional or local sorting office, or to another postal...
on the former fly-ash lagoons proved controversial due to the wildlife that had colonised the site.