Tilbury Coal Power Plant
5:45 AM
Tilbury Coal Power Plant refers to a series of two power stations, in Essex, England. The first station on the site, Tilbury A Power Station, was oil-fired and opened in 1956 with a generating capacity of 360 megawatts (MW). The A station was mothballed in 1981, by which time it had been replaced by Tilbury B Power Station. Opened in 1967, the B station fires coal, as well as co-firing oil and biomass. It has a generating capacity of 1,428 MW, enough electricity to meet the needs of 1.4 million people, equivalent to 80% of the population of Essex. The stations are both situated on a site on the north bank of the River Thames, on the outskirts of Tilbury.
The Tilbury Coal Power Plant B contains four generating units, one of which has been decommissioned since the stations opening and is now redundant, only being used as spare parts for maintenance of the remaining 3 generating units, all 4 units were available before this with a combined capacity of 1428 MW, enough power for 1.4 million people, approximately 80% of the population of Essex. Cooling water is drawn from the Thames. Fuel is delivered by ship to dedicated unloading jetties. The station connects to the National Grid at the nearby 275 kV substation.
The Tilbury Coal Power Plant B contains four generating units, one of which has been decommissioned since the stations opening and is now redundant, only being used as spare parts for maintenance of the remaining 3 generating units, all 4 units were available before this with a combined capacity of 1428 MW, enough power for 1.4 million people, approximately 80% of the population of Essex. Cooling water is drawn from the Thames. Fuel is delivered by ship to dedicated unloading jetties. The station connects to the National Grid at the nearby 275 kV substation.
In early 2007, npower announced plans to replace the current B station with a 1,600 MW 'cleaner' coal-fired power station. The station would cost £1 billion and could be operational by 2014. The plans have been supported by the Port of London Authority.
Incidents
2008 boiler incident
On 1 July 2008, a man servicing an offline boiler at the station fell 20 ft (6.1 m) from scaffolding into the boiler. Crews used an internal staircase in the boiler to rescue the man, and he was taken to safety by 11am.
2009 fire
A fire broke out at the power station on 29 July 2009. The fire broke out shortly after 3:00pm, with the failure of one of the station's high pressure turbine units. Workers were evacuated immediately, and the fire was reported to be under control by 5:30pm. There were no casualties.| Tilbury Coal Power Plant | |
|---|---|
| Country | England |
| Locale | Tilbury |
| Status | Operating |
| Commission date | A station: 1956 B station: 1967 |
| Decommission date | A station: 1981 |
| Owner(s) | Central Electricity Generating Board (1956-1990) National Power (1990-2000) Innogy (2000-2002) npower (2002-present) |
| Power station information | |
| Primary fuel | Coal |
| Secondary fuel | Oil |
| Tertiary fuel | Biomass |
| Power generation information | |
| Installed capacity | A station: 360 MW B station: 1,428 MW |
