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Huddersfield power station

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Coordinates: 53°39′11″N 01°46′27″W / 53.65306°N 1.77417°W / 53.65306; -1.77417
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Huddersfield power station
Map
CountryEngland
LocationHuddersfield West Yorkshire
Coordinates53°39′11″N 01°46′27″W / 53.65306°N 1.77417°W / 53.65306; -1.77417
StatusDecommissioned and demolished
Construction began1891
Commission date1893
Decommission date1981
OwnersHuddersfield Corporation
(1893–1948)
British Electricity Authority
(1948–1955)
Central Electricity Authority
(1955–1957)
Central Electricity Generating Board
(1958–1981)
OperatorAs owner
Thermal power station
Primary fuelCoal
Turbine technologySteam turbines
Chimneys1
Cooling towers3
Cooling sourceCooling towers
Power generation
Units operational2 x 20 MW, 2 x 30 MW (after 1955)
Make and modelEnglish Electric 20 MW, GEC 30 MW
Nameplate capacity100 MW installed, output 94 MW
Annual net output417 GWh (1962)
[edit on Wikidata]

Huddersfield power station supplied electricity to the town of Huddersfield and the wider area from 1893 to 1981. It was owned and operated by Huddersfield Corporation until the nationalisation of the electricity supply industry in 1948. The power station was redeveloped several times: including the incorporation of new plant in the 1910s, and in the 1930s to 1950s. The station was decommissioned in October 1981.

Another power station, together with car sheds and offices, was located at Longroyd Bridge which supplied the Huddersfield tram system with electricity from 1901 to 1940.

History

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In 1890 Huddersfield Corporation applied for a Provisional Order under the Electric Lighting Acts to generate and supply electricity to the town. This was granted by the Board of Trade and was confirmed by Parliament through the Electric Lighting Orders Confirmation (No. 3) Act 1890 (53 & 54 Vict. c. clxxxviii).[1] The power station was built in St. Andrew’s Road (53°39'11"N 1°46'27"W) and first supplied electricity on 29 June 1893.[2]

Equipment specification

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The original plant at Huddersfield power station comprised vertical condensing engines coupled directly and by ropes to Ferranti and Mordey dynamos. In 1898 the generating capacity was 1,150 kW and the maximum load was 636 kW.[2]

Post-war plant

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Following the First World War new plant was installed to meet growing demand for electricity. By 1923 the generating plant comprised:[3]

  • Coal-fired boilers generating up to 315,000 lb/h (39.7 kg/s) of steam, these supplied steam to:
  • Generators:
    • 3 × 600 kW reciprocating engines driving generators
    • 2 × 750 kW steam turbo-alternators
    • 2 × 2,000 kW steam turbo-alternators
    • 1 × 4,000 kW steam turbo-alternator
    • 1 × 6,000 kW steam turbo-alternator

These machines gave a total generating capacity of 17,300 kW of alternating current.[3]

A variety of electricity supplies were available to consumers as:

  • single phase, 100 Hz AC at 100 and 200 Volts
  • single phase, 50 Hz AC, at 100 and 200 Volts
  • 3-phase, 50 Hz AC at 400 Volts.

In the early 1920s the Halifax and Huddersfield electricity undertakings interconnected their systems with an underground cable to share supplies. This facility was constructed at considerable cost rather than taking a supply from the Yorkshire Power Company, even though it was offered at a price less than their own costs of generation.[4]

New plant 1938–1955

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New plant was commissioned over the extended period of 1938–1955.[5]

  • Boilers:
    • 4 × Stirling boilers with chain grate stokers, each 120,000 lb/h (15.1 kg/s), steam conditions 360 and 380 psi and 750 °F (24.8/26.2 bar, 400 °C),
    • 4 × Bennis boilers each 180,000 lb/h (22.7 kg/s) with TG stokers, steam conditions 625 psi and 865 °F (43.1 bar, 463 °C),

The boilers had a total evaporative capacity of 1,200,000 lb/h (151.2 kg/s), and supplied steam to:

  • Turbo-alternators:
    • 2 × English Electric 20 MW turbo-alternator, generating at 6.8 kV
    • 2 × GEC 30 MW, turbo-alternators, generating at 11.8 kV.

The completed total installed generating capacity was 100 MW, with an output capacity 64 MW.[5] The generating sets were commissioned over an extended period: November 1938, November 1946, December 1953, and July 1955.

  • Condenser cooling water was cooled in three 2.6 million gallons per hour (3.28 m3/s) Davenport concrete cooling towers, make-up water was drawn from the River Colne and canal.[5][6]

Operations

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Operational data for the early years of operation was as follows:[2]

Huddersfield operational data 1893–98
Year Consumers Lamps Electricity sold MWh
1893 112 9,613 43.2
1894 214 15,342 156.2
1895 280 28,983 227.8
1896 385 28,983 304.2
1897 598 41,702 438.8
1898 ? 43,309 379.8

The growth in number of consumers, lamps and current sold is evident.

In 1898 maximum electricity demand was 375 kW.[2]

Operating data 1921–23

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The operating data for the period 1921–23 is shown in the table:[3]

Huddersfield power station operating data 1921–23
Electricity Use Units Year
1921 1922 1923
Lighting and domestic use MWh 2,816.50 2,242.24 3,029.49
Public lighting use MWh 84.99 98.74 113.94
Traction MWh – – 1,919.68
Power use MWh 14,166.96 11,072.66 12,991.78
Total use MWh 17,068.44 14,013.64 18,054.87
Load and connected load
Maximum load kW 7245 7870 9060
Total connections kW 30,515 33,250 34,889
Load factor Per cent 33.9 28.2 30.2
Financial
Revenue from sales of current £ – 193,516 180,870
Surplus of revenue over expenses £ – 40,703 62,771

The growth of demand and use of electricity is evident.

Under the terms of the Electricity (Supply) Act 1926 (16-17 Geo. 5 c. 51)[7] the Central Electricity Board (CEB) was established in 1926.[8] The CEB identified high efficiency ‘selected’ power stations that would supply electricity most effectively; Huddersfield was designated a selected station. The CEB also constructed the national grid (1927–33) to connect power stations within a region.[8]

Operating data 1946

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Huddersfield power station operating data, 1946 is given in the table:[9]

Huddersfield power station operating data, 1946
Year Load factor per cent Max output load MW Electricity supplied GWh Thermal efficiency per cent
1946 41.9 50,650 184.776 –

The British electricity supply industry was nationalised in 1948 under the provisions of the Electricity Act 1947 (10-11 Geo. 6 c. 54).[10] The Huddersfield electricity undertaking was abolished, ownership of Huddersfield power station was vested in the British Electricity Authority, and subsequently the Central Electricity Authority and the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB).[8] At the same time the electricity distribution and sales responsibilities of the Huddersfield electricity undertaking were transferred to the Yorkshire Electricity Board (YEB).

Operating data 1954–79

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Operating data for the period 1954–79 is shown in the table:[5][11][12][13]

Huddersfield power station operating data, 1954–79
Year Running hours or load factor (per cent) Maximum output capacity MW Electricity supplied GWh Thermal efficiency per cent
Low pressure plant (English Electric 20 MW turbo-alternators)
1954 8582 38 249.157 22.13
1955 6494 38 161.504 21.04
1956 5137 38 118.395 20.28
1957 3218 38 43.803 19.02
1958 3582 38 60.023 18.85
High pressure plant (GEC 30 MW turbo-alternators)
1955 7849 28 196.256 25.96
1956 8557 56 278.583 25.65
1957 8080 56 372.432 24.71
1958 7582 56 352.781 25.46
Combined plant
1961 42.4 % 94 349.068 22.60
1962 50.6 % 94 416.718 22.69
1963 44.9 % 94 369.670 22.50
1967 44.7 % 94 368.187 22.94
1972 30.3 % 94 249.934 21.18
1979 16.3 % 56 80.030 20.83

The less intensive use of the ‘low pressure’ plant over the period 1954-8 and the increasing use of the high pressure plant 1955–63 is evident, until its usage also declined in the 1970s.

Closure

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Huddersfield power station was decommissioned on 26 October 1981.[14] The buildings subsequently demolished and the area has been redeveloped with industrial and commercial units.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Local Acts of Parliament 1890". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d Garcke, Emile, ed. (1898). Manual of Electrical Undertakings. London: P. S. King and son. pp. 214–16.
  3. ^ a b c Electricity Commissioners (1925). Electricity Supply - 1920-23. London: HMSO. pp. 46–49, 290–95.
  4. ^ Hannah, Leslie (1979). Electricity before Nationalisation. London: Macmillan. p. 84. ISBN 0333220862.
  5. ^ a b c d Garrett, Frederick C., ed. (1959). Garcke's Manual of Electricity Supply. London: Electrical Press. pp. A-65, A-123.
  6. ^ "Huddersfield power station". Bradford archive. 1955. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  7. ^ "Electricity (Supply) Act 1926". legislation.gov.uk. 1926. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  8. ^ a b c Electricity Council (1987). Electricity Supply in the United Kingdom: a Chronology. London: Electricity Council. pp. 45, 60, 69, 73. ISBN 085188105X.
  9. ^ Electricity Commissioners (1947). Generation of Electricity in Great Britain year ended 31 December 1946. London: HMSO. p. 9.
  10. ^ "Electricity Act 1947". legislation.gov.uk. 1947. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  11. ^ CEGB, Annual Report 1961, 1962, 1963 London: CEGB
  12. ^ CEGB (1972). CEGB Statistical Yearbook 1972. London: CEGB.
  13. ^ CEGB (1979). Statistical Yearbook 1978-9. London: CEGB. p. 8. ISBN 0902543598.
  14. ^ House of Commons, Written answers Volume 52 Coal-fired power stations, 16 January 1984
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