History
Spencer Street Power Station was built by the City of Melbourne to supply electricity to the city, initially to provide street lighting, opening in 1894. [2] [3] Arthur James Arnot designed and managed Spencer Street power station from 1894 to 1901 for the Melbourne City council. [4] [5]
A Station:- The first power plant consisted of 24 General Electric direct current (DC) generators installed in four groups of six. Each group was belt driven by a 300HP Austral Otis horizontal compound slow speed steam engine. The terminal voltage was 3 kV DC and the electricity was used for street lights, trams, lifts and city buildings. Steam was supplied from four Babcock & Wilcox water tube boilers. In 1897 four General Electric 75 kW alternators were added. They were belt driven by the existing engines. Output was 2 kV and 72 Hz. In 1900 a Peach three-crank compound 2500HP steam engine was installed. It was coupled to a Johnson & Phillips 120 kW alternator. The alternating current (AC) was used in the surrounding suburbs via transformers. 1905 saw further expansion with one 200 kW alternator, 4x350 kW vertical Belliss steam engines that were direct-coupled to DC generators at 460 V DC. This was to augment the city supply. Steam was supplied by another four Babcock boilers. [6]
In 1907 the first turbines were installed, with two 750 kW British Westinghouse Parsons 4.4 kV single-phase machines added. The old arc lighting plant was removed to provide the space. 1908 saw three Allen triple-expansion engines installed, each coupled to 750 kW generator and more boilers. A Siemens 4.4 MW 6.6 kV three-phase alternator was added in 1913. Next year, two William Robinson 5 MW turbo-alternators were added. 1917 saw the further addition of a 6.5 MW turbo-alternator from British Westinghouse. This was a three-phase, 6.6 kV 50 Hz machine, and ran at 1500 RPM. In 1927 four 6 MW three-phase 6.6 kV turbo-alternators were installed. At this time all the DC generators were replaced with motor-generators generators. [7] By 1923 there were a total of 20 Babcock water tube boilers, each having a steam capacity of 17,000 lb/hr at 165PSI and 520 °F (271 °C). Smoke was directed into two smoke stacks each 175 feet (53 m) high.
B+C Stations- In 1949 two 15 MW Parsons turbo-generators were installed in an adjacent site. Steam was supplied by large oil-fired water tube boilers. Ten years later two 30MW Parsons machines were added and called C station. Steam was supplied by more water-tube boilers that were fitted with pulverized fuel equipment for burning coal, but for pollution reasons they were only oil fired.
In 1941 the station came under the management of the State Electricity Commission of Victoria and became part of the state electricity network. [1] Progressive upgrades saw the capacity of the station rise to 109 MW by the 1960s, but newer power stations in the Latrobe Valley meant that the station was retained for peak use only.
Richmond Power Station was a coal fired power station which operated on the banks of the Yarra River in Richmond, Victoria, Australia from its construction in 1891 until its closure in 1976. It was one of the first alternating current (AC) electricity generation plants in the state. It has since been converted into office space and is the headquarters of international fashion brand Country Road and advertising agency CHE Proximity. The area in which it is located is now called Cremorne.
The Newport Power Station was a complex of power stations located on the west bank of the Yarra River, approximately 6 km south-west of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, in the suburb of Newport. Newport A, B, and C were coal-fired plants which operated at the site between 1919 and the 1980s, and were claimed to be the largest power station in the southern hemisphere in 1953 with 42 boilers and 14 turbo-alternators producing 327 megawatts (439,000 hp).
Great Yarmouth Power Station is combined cycle gas turbine power station on South Denes Road in Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England, with a maximum output of 420 MW electricity, opened in 2001. It is built on the site of an oil-fired power station, built in 1958 and closed and demolished in the 1990s. A coal-fired power station was built in Great Yarmouth in 1894 and operated until 1961. The station is operated by RWE.
Shoreham Power Station is a 420MWe combined cycle gas-fired power station in Southwick, West Sussex. It was built on the site of the Brighton B Power Station.
Stuart Street Power Station was a coal-fired power station in Bradford, Manchester, England.
Pyrmont Power Station was an electricity generating plant located in the Sydney suburb of Pyrmont, New South Wales.
The Ultimo Power Station, or Ultimo Powerhouse, was an electricity generating plant located in the inner-city Sydney suburb of Ultimo, New South Wales. Commissioned in 1899, it was the first major power station in Sydney and was originally built to supply power for the electric tram network. Prior to this, a small installation had existed at Regent Street, which was brought into use on 15 June 1882. Additionally, experimental electric tram operations powered by small generators had been in intermittent use in Sydney since 1890.
Leicester power stations are a series of electricity generating stations that have provided electric power to the City of Leicester and the wider area from 1894. The first station, located within Aylestone gas works, supplied electricity for street lighting. The city’s new electric tram system was supplied from 1904 by a station at Lero which operated until 1930. A large coal-fired power station was constructed at Freemans Meadow in 1922 and was operational until 1976. Finally a gas turbine power plant was commissioned in 1976.
Lombard Road power station supplied electricity to the Battersea area of South-East London from 1901 to 1972. It was owned and operated by the Borough of Battersea 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 the 1930s. The station was decommissioned in 1972.
Burton upon Trent power station supplied electricity to the town of Burton upon Trent and the wider area from 1894 to 1976. It was owned and operated by Burton upon Trent Corporation until the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948. The power station was redeveloped several times: including the incorporation of new plant in the 1910s, in 1924–28 and 1941–43. The station was decommissioned in October 1976.
Halifax power station supplied electricity to the town of Halifax and the wider area from 1894 to the 1960s. It was owned and operated by Halifax Corporation until the nationalisation of the electricity supply industry in 1948. The power station was redeveloped several times and at its peak had a generating capacity of 48 MW.
Wallasey power station supplied electricity to the town of Wallasey and the surrounding area from 1897. It was owned and operated by Wallasey Corporation until the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948. The power station was redeveloped several times: including the incorporation of new plant in the 1920s and 1950. The station was decommissioned in the late 1960s.
Colchester power station supplied electricity to the city of Colchester, Essex, England and the surrounding area from 1900 to 1960. It was owned and operated by Colchester Corporation prior to the nationalisation of the electricity supply industry in 1948. The power station was redeveloped several times incorporating new plant.
Greenhill power station supplied electricity to the town of Oldham, England and the surrounding area from 1921 to 1960. It replaced the older Rhodes Bank generating station and was superseded by Chadderton B power station. Greenhill power station was owned and operated by Oldham Corporation until the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948. The power station was built over the period 1921–24 and was decommissioned in 1960.
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.
The Cardiff power stations supplied electricity to the City of Cardiff and the surrounding area from 1894 to about 1970. The original power station was in Riverside; a larger replacement station was built in Roath in the 1902, initially to supply the tramway system. They were both owned and operated by Cardiff Corporation prior to the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948. The Roath power station was redeveloped in the 1920s and 1940s to meet the increased demand for electricity.
The Newport power stations supplied electricity to the town of Newport and the surrounding area from 1895 to the late 1970s. The original power station was in Llanarth Street which supplied electric lighting; a larger station, known as the East power station, was built in Corporation Road from 1903. They were owned and operated by Newport Corporation prior to the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948. The East power station was redeveloped in the 1920s and 1940s to meet the increased demand for electricity.
Nelson power station supplied electricity to the town of Nelson, Lancashire and the surrounding area from 1892 to 1960. The power station was owned and operated by Nelson Corporation prior to the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948. It was redeveloped in 1922 to 1925 to meet the increased demand for electricity.
Stockport power station supplied electricity to the town of Stockport, Cheshire and the surrounding area from 1899 to 1976. The power station was owned and operated by Stockport Corporation prior to the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948. It was redeveloped several times to meet the increased demand for electricity.
St Helens power station supplied electricity to the Borough of St Helens and the surrounding area from 1896 to the late 1960s. The power station was developed by the St Helens Corporation which operated it up to the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948. It was redeveloped several times to meet the increased demand for electricity.
