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Blackburn Meadows Power Station

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Coordinates: 53°25′05″N 1°24′18″W / 53.4181°N 1.4049°W / 53.4181; -1.4049
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Blackburn Meadows power station
Map
Official nameBlackburn Meadows power station
CountryEngland
LocationSheffield, South Yorkshire
Coordinates53°25′05″N 1°24′18″W / 53.4181°N 1.4049°W / 53.4181; -1.4049
StatusOperational
Construction began2011
Commission date2014
OwnerE.ON UK
OperatorE.ON UK
Thermal power station
Primary fuelBiomass
Power generation
Nameplate capacity30 MW
External links
Websitewww.eonenergy.com
CommonsRelated media on Commons
[edit on Wikidata]

Blackburn Meadows power station is a biomass power station situated at Blackburn Meadows on the River Don, between Sheffield and Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England. Operated by E.ON UK, it was opened in 2014 and has an operating capacity of 30 megawatts.

The biomass plant was built on the site of a former coal-fired power station which closed in 1980. The coal power station on the site was best known for its two cooling towers, which remained standing for nearly thirty years after closure, forming a landmark along the M1 motorway in Sheffield and coming to be known as the Tinsley Towers, after the district of the city in which they are located. They were demolished in 2008.

Coal-fired power station

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Blackburn Meadows power station (1921–1980)
The cooling towers of the old coal-fired power station standing before their demolition.
Map
StatusDecommissioned and demolished
Commission date1921 (Tinsley Towers built 1938)
Decommission date1980 (Tinsley Towers demolished 24 August 2008)
Thermal power station
Primary fuelCoal
Power generation
Nameplate capacity72 MW
External links
CommonsRelated media on Commons
[edit on Wikidata]

The first power station on the site was built in 1921 by the Sheffield Corporation, to support the steel industry in the Lower Don Valley. The station originally comprised three 6 MW and one 10 MW steam turbines.[1] The station was expanded in the 1930s. Hyperboloid cooling towers 6 and 7 were constructed between 1937 and 1938, replacing earlier square cooling towers. They were designed by LG Mouchell and Partners. The cooling towers had a total capacity of 10,500,000 gallons per hour.[2]

Blackburn Meadows operated in conjunction with Neepsend and Kelham Island power stations.

The station was nationalised in 1948 and operated by the British Electricity Authority (1948–1955), the Central Electricity Authority (1955–1957) then from 1 January 1958 the Central Electricity Generating Board.[3] It had a generating capacity of 72 megawatts and was closed on 27 October 1980.[4] The station comprised two Metropolitan Vickers 50 MW and two 30 MW English Electric turbo-alternators.[5] The coal-fired boilers generated 1,500,000 lb/h (189 kg/s) of steam at 580 psi (40 bar) and 427 °C. There were three Stirling tri-drum boilers each rated at 100,000 lb/hr; three Stirling tri-drum and three Mitchell tri-drum boilers each rated at 160,000 lb/hr; and two Mitchell tri-drum boilers each rated at 190,000 lb/hr.[2]

The annual output of the station was:[5][6][7][8]

Station electricity output 1955–79, GWh
Year 1946 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
Station output, GWh 773.6 567.755 582.423 601.796 578.701 602.720 445.532


Year 1961 1962 1963 1967 1972 1979
Station output, GWh 553.1 ? 529.5 322.7 305.385 2.92

Most of the station was demolished following the closure in October 1980, but two of the cooling towers were left standing until August 2008.

Tinsley Towers

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Demolition of Tinsley cooling towers on 24 August 2008

For safety reasons the Tinsley cooling towers could not easily be demolished, and were left standing unused for a further 27 years after closure of the station. Positioned directly alongside the major motorway bridge, Tinsley viaduct, the towers were an iconic landmark for the area, particularly due to their prominence when viewed from the M1 motorway. There was a campaign to save the towers from demolition with proposals to turn them into a giant art installation.[9]

The two 250 ft (76 m) towers were demolished at 03:00 on 24 August 2008. However a significant portion of the north tower remained standing for a short while, which had to be destroyed manually.[10]

Biomass power station

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Plans to construct a new biomass power station on the site were finalised in late 2011. The project was estimated to cost £120 million, and to be completed in 2014. It would generate 30 megawatts of electricity, employing around 30 people, and work began in November 2011.[11] The plant, which is operated by E.ON UK, was commissioned in the summer of 2014, and power is generated by burning waste wood, sourced from the United Kingdom. Waste heat from the process is captured and used to provide a district heating scheme. E.ON have created a community benefits fund, which will be used to support local projects while the plant is operational, and this will include the building of a visitor centre to explain the energy generation process and to interpret the industrial heritage of the location.[12]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Electricity Commission (1925). Electricity Supply – 1920–1923. London: HMSO. pp. 78–79.
  2. ^ a b Garrett, Frederick C., ed. (1959). Garcke's Manual of Electricity Supply vol. 56. London: Electrical Press. pp. A-34, A-114.
  3. ^ E Branse-Instone (16 February 2006). "Advisers Report" (PDF). English Heritage. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 23 November 2008.
  4. ^ Mr. Redmond (16 January 1984). "Coal-fired Power Stations". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  5. ^ a b CEGB (1972). CEGB Statistical Yearbook 1972. London: CEGB. p. 15.
  6. ^ CEGB (1979). CEGB Statistical Yearbook 1978–79. London: CEGB. p. 8. ISBN 0902543598.
  7. ^ CEGB Annual report and Accounts, 1961, 1962 & 1963
  8. ^ Electricity Commission, Generation of Electricity in Great Britain year ended 31st December 1946. London: HMSO, 1947.
  9. ^ Topping, Alexandra (2 April 2008). "Crushing disappointment". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  10. ^ "Blast demolishes landmark towers". BBC News. BBC. 24 August 2008. Retrieved 24 August 2008.
  11. ^ "Plans for £120m Sheffield biomass power plant unveiled". BBC News. 14 November 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  12. ^ "Blackburn Meadows Renewable Energy CHP Plant". E.ON. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
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