Ironbridge power station
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Ironbridge power stations (also known as the Buildwas power stations) refers to a series of two power stations in Shropshire, England. The 200 MW Ironbridge A was retired in 1980-1981.
The 1,000 MW Ironbridge B Power Station stopped generating electricity on 20 November 2015, with the decommissioning process expected to continue into 2017.[1]
Contents
Background
Ironbridge A
Construction of the first Ironbridge Power Station (later to become known as Ironbridge A Power Station) began in 1929, and the first phase was completed in 1932. The station officially opened on 13 October 1932. The full generating capacity of Ironbridge A was not realized until major expansions and the commissioning of extra boilers and generating sets had been completed in 1939. This gave the A Station a total generating output of 200 megawatts (MW).[2]
As a result of the increasing demand for electricity after the World War II, it was decided by the Central Electricity Generating Board that a new, larger, 2 x 500MW power station called Ironbridge B, was to be constructed alongside the A Station. The A station was partially closed on 27 October 1980, with the decommissioning of 100MW of the station's generating capacity. The remainder of the station's capacity ceased generating electricity in 1981 and significant portions of the station were demolished in 1983 prior to being granted listed building status.[3]
Ironbridge B
Ironbridge B comprises two units with an installed capacity of 1,000 megawatts, commissioned in 1970.[4]
As a result of the implementation of the European Union Large Combustion Plant Directive E.ON decided to opt the Ironbridge power station out of improving its pollution control equipment. While E.ON state on its website that the power station will be closed by 2015,[5] they also state that they plan to convert one unit of the power station to run on 80% wood and 20% coal.[6]
As of January 2012 the plant had 11,417 hours of its 20,000 operating hours remaining.[7]
In April 2012 EON stated that the unit converted to co-fire with wood and coal would "become operational in early 2013 and will run its remaining operational hours on the new fuel mix until its planned closure by December 2015 as required under the Large Combustion Plant Directive (LCPD)."[8]
Articles and Resources
Sources
- ↑ Ironbridge Power Station in Shropshire stops generating electricity. BBC News. Retrieved on 22 November 2015.
- ↑ The West Midlands Joint Electricity Authority. http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/. Retrieved on 30 November 2008.
- ↑ Mr. Redmond (16 January 1984). Coal-fired Power Stations. Hansard. Retrieved on 1 September 2009.
- ↑ E.ON UK, "Ironbridge", E.ON UK website, accessed October 2012.
- ↑ E.ON UK, "Large combustion plant directive" E.ON UK website, accessed October 2012.
- ↑ E.ON UK, "Ironbridge", E.ON UK website, accessed October 2012.
- ↑ "Opted Out plants 1 January 2012", European Environment Agency, October 2012. See Sheet 17, identified in the tabs at the foot of the Excel spreadhseet as "UK").
- ↑ EON, "E.ON to progress to next stage with plans for fuel switch and flexibility at Ironbridge power station", Media Release, April 5, 2012.
Related SourceWatch articles
- Advanced Power Technology Forum
- British Coal Utilisation Research Association
- Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
- UK Coal
- Coal Authority (UK)
- Department of Trade and Industry (UK)
- Scottish Coal
- British Geological Survey
- European Union Large Combustion Plant Directive
- United Kingdom and coal
- Very low sulphur coal
External Articles
- E.ON UK, "Ironbridge", E.ON UK website, accessed June 2008.
