Wolverhampton Power Station

Wolverhampton power station, also known as Commercial Road power station, supplied electricity to the Borough of Wolverhampton, England and the surrounding area from 1895 to 1976. It was redeveloped in several stages to meet growing demand for electricity: including the addition of new plant in 1902 to 1908, 1925 and 1942. The power station was initially owned and operated by Wolverhampton Corporation, but was transferred to the West Midlands Joint Electricity Authority in 1928. The British Electricity Authority assumed ownership at nationalisation in 1948. Wolverhampton power station was decommissioned in 1976.

Wolverhampton power station
CountryEngland
LocationWolverhampton
Coordinates52°34′54″N 02°06′54″W
StatusDecommissioned
Construction began1894
Commission date1895
Decommission date1976
Construction cost£32,000
Owner(s)Wolverhampton Corporation
(1894–1928)
West Midlands Joint Electricity Authority
(1928–1948)
British Electricity Authority
(1948–1955)
Central Electricity Authority
(1955–1957)
Central Electricity Generating Board
(1958–1976)
Operator(s)As owner
Thermal power station
Primary fuelCoal
Turbine technologySteam turbines
Chimneys1 brick 115 feet (35 m); 1 steel 175 feet (53 m)
Cooling towers1 concrete
Cooling sourceCirculating water
Power generation
Units operational1 × 30 MW (from 1942)
Make and modelBrush-Ljungstrom
Nameplate capacity30 MW
Annual net output125.271 GWh (1946)

History

In 1883 Wolverhampton Corporation applied for a provisional order[1] under the Electric Lighting Acts to generate and supply electricity to the town. This was granted by the Board of Trade, however, no construction work was undertaken and a further provisional order was obtained in 1890.[2] The power station was built in Commercial Road (52°34'54"N 2°06'54"W 52°34′54″N 2°06′54″W) and was adjacent to the Wolverhampton Level canal for the delivery of coal. It first supplied electricity on 30 January 1895.[3]

Equipment specification

Original plant 1895

The original 1895 plant at Wolverhampton power station comprised Marshall's horizontal compound engines coupled by ropes to Electric Construction Company and Parker dynamos, together with a Belliss engine coupled directly to a Parker dynamo. In 1898 the generating capacity was 632 kW and the maximum load on the system was 318 kW.[4]

New plant 1902–04

New plant was installed from 1902, partly to supply the local tramway system. By 1908 the capacity was 6 MW there were two Babcock & Wilcox 20,000 lb/h (2.52 kg/s) boilers, two 1 MW turbo-alternators.[5] By 1913 there was 3 MW of direct current generating plant and 4 MW of alternating current generation.[3]

In 1904 a refuse destructor was built in Crown Street, this generated steam to drive two 125 kW generators. Further plant was added to the destructor plant bringing the generating capacity up to 750 kW (1913) and 1 MW (1921). This comprised one 500 kW AC turbine and one 500 kW DC turbine.[6]

Plant in 1923

By 1923 the generating plant comprised:[6]

  • Coal-fired boilers generating up to 360,000 lb/h (45.4 kg/s) of steam, which was supplied:
  • Generators:
    • 1 × 1,000 kW steam turbo-alternator
    • 1 × 2,000 kW steam turbo-alternator
    • 1 × 4,000 kW steam turbo-alternator
    • 3 × 5,000 kW steam turbo-alternators

These machines gave a total generating capacity of 22 MW of alternating current.[6]

In addition the adjacent refuse destructor plant had a 500 kW turbine generating direct current.[3]

Electricity was supplied to consumers at:[6]

  • 3-phase, 50 Hz AC at 400 & 230 Volts
  • Direct current at 440 & 220 Volts

In 1925 the DC generators were scrapped and two 7.5 MW turbo-alternators were commissioned.[3] This brought the capacity of the station to 23 MW.[3]

Plant in 1942

New plant was commissioned in 1942, comprising:[7]

  • Boilers:
    • 4 × Thompson La Mont stoker fired boilers each capable of producing 120,000 lb/h (15.1 kg/s), steam conditions 440 psi and 850 °F (30.3 bar, 454 °C),which supplied steam to:
    • 1 × 30 MW Brush-Ljungstrom turbo-alternator, generating electricity at 6.6 kV.
  • Condenser cooling water was cooled in a single Hennibique reinforced concrete cooling tower with a capacity of 1.5 million gallons per hour (1.89 m3/s).[7]

Operations

Operational data for the station was as follows.

In 1898 maximum electricity demand was 318 kW.[4] There were 208 customers supplied with a total of 211,777 kWh of electricity plus 79,438 kWh for public lamps. The revenue from the sales of current was £6,139 offset by generating costs of £2,211.[4]

Operating data 1921–23

The operating data for the period 1921–23 was:[6]

Wolverhampton power station operating data 1921–23
Electricity Use Units Year
1921 1922 1923
Lighting and domestic MWh 2,478 2,832 3,071
Public lighting MWh 244 239 275
Traction MWh 2,366 2,164 2,437
Power MWh 16,240 10,522 14,088
Bulk supply MWh 231 452 7,068
Total use MWh 21,599 16,209 26,940
Load and connected load
Maximum load kW 10,125 9,361 11,735
Total connections kW 23,130 24,255 29,365
Load factor Per cent 31.5 28.0 32.1
Financial
Revenue from sales of current £ – 156,349 169,852
Surplus of revenue over expenses £ – 63,573 79,523

Ownership of Wolverhampton power station was transferred to the West Midlands Joint Electricity Authority in 1928.[5]

Operating data 1934–6

The station capacity and output in the mid-1930s was:[8]

Wolverhampton station capacity and output 1934–36
1934–35 1935–36
Plant capacity MW 30.0 30.0
Maximum load MW 22.0 30.2
Maximum demand load factor % 22.3 13.0
Electricity generated MWh 42,999 34,568
Electricity sold MWh 39,578 31,857
Supply to Wolverhampton Corporation MWh 130,501 149,325

Operating data 1946

Wolverhampton power station operating data in 1946 was:[9]

Wolverhampton power station operating data, 1946
Year Load factor per cent Max output load MW Electricity supplied MWh Thermal efficiency per cent
1946 32.2 44,400 125,271 19.26

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 Wolverhampton electricity undertaking and the West Midlands Joint Electricity Authority were abolished. Ownership of Wolverhampton power station was vested in the British Electricity Authority, and subsequently the Central Electricity Authority and the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB).[11] At the same time the electricity distribution and sales responsibilities of the Wolverhampton electricity undertaking were transferred to the Midlands Electricity Board (MEB).[11]

Operating data 1954–72

Operating data for the period 1954–72 was:[7][12][13]

Wolverhampton power station operating data, 1954–72
Year Running hours or load factor (per cent) Max output capacity  MW Electricity supplied GWh Thermal efficiency per cent
1954 3581 28 84.628 21.00
1955 5033 28 122.040 20.25
1956 4473 28 104.673 19.47
1957 4077 28 90.982 19.62
1958 2983 28 71.355 20.17
1961 (25.0 %) 28 61.305 20.20
1962 (10.7 %) 28 26.325 20.14
1963 (1.74 %) 28 4.274 18.34
1967 (22.6%) 28 55.32 18.54
1972 (24.1 %) 28 59.296 20.2

The electricity output in GWh of the station was as shown.

Wolverhampton was an electricity supply district covering 106 square miles (275 km2) and a population of 191,500.[7] It encompassed the County Borough of Wolverhampton, and parts of the districts of Tettenhall, Cannock, Seisdon, Shifnal and Bridgnorth. The number of consumers and electricity sold was:[7]

Year 1956 1957 1958
Number of consumers 62,943 64,354 65,353
Electricity sold MWh 475,606 492,667 523,067

Closure and reuse

Wolverhampton power station was decommissioned on 25 October 1976.[14] The main buildings have been adapted to commercial use.

See also

References
  1. Confirmed by parliament in the Electric Lighting Orders Confirmation (No. 2) Act 1883 (46 & 47 Vict. c. ccxiv).
  2. Confirmed by parliament in the Electric Lighting Orders Confirmation Act 1890 (54 & 55 Vict. c. clxxxvi).
  3. "The Commercial Road Power Station". Archived from the original on 13 January 2012.
  4. Garcke, Emile (1898). Manual of Electrical Undertakings 1898-99 vol. 3. London: P. S. King and Son. pp. 345–47.
  5. Tucker, D. G. (1977). "Electricity generating stations for public supply in the West Midlands 1888–1977" (PDF). outsideecho. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  6. Electricity Commissioners (1925). Electricity Supply – 1920–23. London: HMSO. pp. 106–09, 332–7.
  7. Garrett, Frederick (1959). Manual of Electricity Supply vol. 56. London: Electrical Press. pp. A-109, A-139, B-258.
  8. Electricity Commissioners (1936). Electricity Commissioners Sixteenth annual report 1935-6. London: HMSO. p. 141.
  9. Electricity Commissioners (1947). Generation of Electricity in Great Britain year ended 31 December 1946. London: HMSO. p. 15.
  10. "Electricity Act 1947". legislation.gov.uk. 1947. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  11. Electricity Council (1987). Electricity supply in the United Kingdom: a Chronology. London: Electricity Council. pp. 45, 60, 69, 73. ISBN 085188105X.
  12. CEGB Annual report and Accounts, 1961, 1962 & 1963
  13. Central Electricity Generating Board (1972). CEGB Statistical Yearbook 1972. London: Central Electricity Generating Board. p. 13.
  14. House of Commons. Written answers, Coal-fired power stations, 16 January 1964
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