Derby power station: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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{{Infobox power station

| name = Derby power station

| image = Derby_Power_Station,_1957.jpg

| image_caption = Derby Power Station in 1957

| coordinates = {{Coord|52|55|33|N|01|28|35|W|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}

| country = United Kingdom

| location = [[Derby]], [[Derbyshire]]

| status = Decommissioned and demolished

| construction_began = 1892

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| decommissioned = 1969

| cost =

| owner = Derby Corporation ''(1892–1948), '' [[British Electricity Authority ]] ''(~~1948–55~~1948–1955), '' [[Central Electricity Authority ]] ''(~~1955–57~~1955–1957), '' [[Central Electricity Generating Board ]] ''(~~1958–72~~1958–1972)''

| operator = As owner

| employees =

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| th_technology = Steam driven reciprocating engines and steam turbo-alternators

| ps_chimneys = 4

| ps_cooling_towers = ~~none~~

| ps_cooling_source = River water

| ps_revenue = £67,691 (1923)

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}}

'''Derby power station''' supplied electricity to the town of [[Derby]] and the surrounding area from 1893 to 1969. The power station was built and operated by Derby Corporation and started generating electricity in October 1893. It was located in Silkmill Lane in the town centre adjacent to the River Derwent from which it drew its cooling water. The power station was extended in the 1920s and 1940s. It was closed in 1969 and was subsequently demolished.

== History ==

In 1890 [[Derby City Council|Derby Corporation]] applied for a Provisional Order to generate and supply electricity to the town of Derby, Derbyshire. This was granted by the [[Board of Trade]] and was confirmed by Parliament by the ''Electric Lighting Orders (No. 5) Act 1890'' (54 & 55 Vict. c. cxc).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Local Acts 1890|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/changes/chron-tables/local/96|access-date=3 August 2020|website=legislation.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Derby power station and Silk Mill 1890s|url=https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/73816881367781505/|access-date=3 August 2020|website=pinterest}}</ref> The Corporation electricity undertaking constructed a power station on a triangular site (52°55'32.6"N 1°28'35.4"W) bounded by Sowter Road, Silkmill Lane and the River Derwent.<ref>Ordnance Survey, ''25 inch map Derbyshire L.9'' (Chaddesden; Derby) Revised: 1899, published: 1901.</ref> It had an initial generating capacity of 572  kW.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|editor-last=Garcke|editor-first=Emile ~~(ed)~~|title=Manual of electrical undertakings 1898–99|publisher=P. S. King and Son|year=1898|location=London|pages=166–168}}</ref> The generating equipment comprised steam driven [[Browett, Lindley & Co|Browett Lindley]] engines coupled directly to [[Siemens]] [[~~Dynamo|dynamos~~dynamo]]s. The supply of electricity commenced on 10 October 1893.<ref name=":0" /> In the year ending March 1898 the station sold a total of 350.33 [[Kilowatt-hour|MWh]] powering 20,418 lamps (each of 8 [[Candlepower|candle-power]]). The maximum load on the system was 336  kW, and there was 317 consumers.<ref name=":0" />

Traction current was supplied to the municipal [[Derby Corporation Tramways|tram system]] from 1904.<ref>{{Cite web|date=14 May 2009|title=Electric Trams in Derby|url=http://photo-sleuth.blogspot.com/2009/05/electric-trams-in-derby-1904-1934.html|access-date=3 August 2020|website=photo-sleuth}}</ref>

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During the First World War [[British Celanese|British Cellulose]] refused to take an electricity supply from Derby power station because they were generating electricity on a larger scale and more cheaply than the municipal supply.<ref name=":7">{{Cite book|last=Hannah|first=Leslie|title=Electricity before Nationalisation|publisher=Macmillan|year=1979|isbn=0333220862|location=London|pages=174, 210}}</ref>

== New boiler house 1921 ==

A new boiler house was commissioned in 1921, at a cost of £120,000.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Derby Power Station and Old Silk Mill Pub|url=https://www.europeana.eu/en/item/2022323/E149739551DA2D77D7275BE1AD11F5FD5F7E9C61|access-date=3 August 2020|website=Europeana}}</ref>

=== Specification ===

By 1923 the steam plant at the station had a capacity of 260,000  lb/h (32.8  kg/s) and supplied steam to:<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Electricity Commissioners|title=Electricity Supply – 1920–23|publisher=HMSO|year=1925|location=London|pages=~~26-29~~26–29, ~~272-277~~272–277}}</ref>

* 3 × 2,000  kW [[steam turbine]] driven [[alternating current]] (AC) generators

* 1 × 4,000  kW steam turbine driven AC generator

* 1 × 7,000  kW steam turbine driven AC generator

* 3 × 750  kW steam turbine driven [[direct current]] (DC) generators

These provided a total generating capacity of 2,250  kW.

The station supplied a range of electrical current:<ref name=":2" />

* 3-phase, 50  Hz, alternating current at 230 & 400 Volts

* Single phase, 50  Hz, AC at 200 Volts

* Direct current (DC) at 460 & 230 Volts

=== Operations ===

In 1923 the maximum load on the system was 10,138  kW, and there was a connected load of 28,572  kW. The power was sold for the following uses:<ref name=":2" />

{| class="wikitable"

|+Derby power station electricity sold 1921 to 1923

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New extensions to the plant were built in the late 1920s.<ref>{{Cite web|date=1940|title=Derby power station, Derby|url=https://picturethepast.org.uk/image-library/image-details/poster/dmag001139/posterid/dmag001139.html|access-date=3 August 2020|website=picture the past}}</ref> The official opening of the extended site on the south side of Silkmill Lane took place on 28 March 1930.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|date=1963|title=Aerial view of Derby from cathedral tower dominated by power station in 1960s|url=https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/nostalgia/aerial-view-derby-cathedral-tower-1878253#:~:text=March%2028%2C%201930.-,Promoted%20Stories,the%20end%20of%20the%201960s.|access-date=3 August 2020|website=Derby Telegraph}}</ref>

== Derby power station and electricity policy ==

Under the terms of the ''Electricity (Supply) Act 1926'' (16-17 Geo. 5 c. 51)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Electricity (Supply) Act 1926|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/16-17/51/contents/enacted|access-date=3 August 2020|website=legislation.gov.uk}}</ref> the [[Central Electricity Board]] (CEB) was established.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last=Electricity Council|title=Electricity supply in the United Kingdom: a Chronology|publisher=Electricity Council Electricity supply in the United Kingdom: a Chronology|year=1987|isbn=085188105X|location=London|pages=45, 60}}</ref> The CEB identified high efficiency ‘selected’ power station that would supply electricity most effectively; Derby was designated a selected station. The CEB also constructed the [[National Grid (Great Britain)|national grid]] (1927–33) to connect power stations within a region.<ref name=":4" />

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Upon [[Nationalization|nationalisation]] of the British electricity supply industry in 1948 under the provisions of the ''Electricity Act 1947'' (10-11 Geo. 6 c. 54)<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|title=Electricity Act 1947|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo6/10-11/54/contents|access-date=3 August 2020|website=legislation.gov.uk}}</ref> the Derby electricity undertaking was abolished, ownership of Derby power station was vested in the [[British Electricity Authority]], and subsequently the [[Central Electricity Authority]] and the [[Central Electricity Generating Board]] (CEGB).<ref name=":4" /> At the same time the electricity distribution and sales responsibilities of the Derby electricity undertaking were transferred to the [[East Midlands Electricity|East Midlands Electricity Board]] (EMEB).<ref name=":5" />

== Nationalised power station ==

=== Specification ===▼

The plant installed by the mid-1950s comprised:<ref name=":6">{{Cite book|editor-last=Garrett|editor-first=Frederick C. ~~(ed)~~|title=Garcke's Manual of Electricity Supply 1958-9 vol. 56|publisher=Electrical Press|year=1959|location=London|pages=A-50, A-119}}</ref>▼

▲=== Specification ===

▲The plant installed by the mid-1950s comprised:<ref name=":6">{{Cite book|last=Garrett|first=Frederick C. (ed)|title=Garcke's Manual of Electricity Supply 1958-9 vol. 56|publisher=Electrical Press|year=1959|location=London|pages=A-50, A-119}}</ref>

* Boilers

** 3 × 45,000  lb/h (5.67  kg/s), [[Babcock & Wilcox]] [[Pulverized coal-fired boiler|pulverised coal-fired]] boilers, supplying steam at 310 psi at 710 °F to 750 °F (21.4 bar at 377 to 399 °C).

** 2 × 60,000  lb/h (7.56  kg/s) [[International Combustion]] pulverised coal-fired boilers, steam conditions as above.

** 4 × 110,000  lb/h (13.86  kg/s) International Combustion pulverised coal-fired boilers, steam conditions as above.

These boilers had a total steam evaporative capacity of 695,000  lb/h (87.6  kg/s). The boilers fed the following generating plant:<ref name=":6" />

* Generating plant

** 1 × 30 MW [[C.A. Parsons ~~Corporation~~and Company|Parsons]] [[Alternator|turbo-alternator]] operating at 33 kV

** 1 × 20 MW Parsons turbo-alternator operating at 6.6 kV

** 1 × 10 MW Parsons turbo-alternator operating at 6.6 kV

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These machines had a total generating capacity of 65.5 MW.<ref name=":6" />

=== Operations ===

==== Incident ====▼

▲==== Incident ====

An engineer was killed at the power station in November 1951. An inquest found that an error of judgement by engineers undertaking an electricity switching operation caused an explosion which killed a shift engineer. The accident could have been prevented by a transformer switch but this could not be delivered for two years.<ref>{{Cite news|date=11 December 1951|title='Two years to wait for equipment'|page=2|work=The Times}}</ref>

Operating details of the station over the period 1946–63 were as follows:<ref name=":6" /><ref>Central Electricity Generating Board, ''Annual Report and Accounts 1961'', London, CEGB</ref><ref>Central Electricity Generating Board, ''Annual Report and Accounts 1962'', London, CEGB</ref><ref>Central Electricity Generating Board, ''Annual Report and Accounts 1963'', London, CEGB</ref><ref name=":8">Electricity Commission, ''Generation of Electricity in Great Britain year ended ~~31st~~31st December 1946''. London: HMSO, 1947.</ref>

{| class="wikitable"

|+Derby power station operations 1946–63

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The output capacity data demonstrates how machinery was gradually decommissioned.

== Closure ==

The oldest part of Derby power station, north of Silkmill Lane, closed in 1963 and was demolished.<ref name=":3" /> The original site retains a connection with electricity as the location of the operational 132 kV Silk Mill substation. The remainder of the station, south of Silkmill Lane, operated until 1969 when it closed.<ref name=":1" /> The plant, including the four chimneys, was demolished over the period November 1971 to February 1972.<ref name=":3" />

== ~~See~~Railway ~~also~~power station ==

In addition to the statutory public-supply Derby power station, the [[Midland Railway]] constructed electricity generating stations to meet its own demand for electricity.

The first private supply power station was built in Calvert Street in 1893. It supplied electricity to the station offices, the locomotive works offices, and the Midland Hotel.<ref name=":9">{{Cite book|last=Lowe|first=J. W.|title=British Steam Locomotive Builders|publisher=Guild Publishing|year=1989}}</ref> In 1910 it was replaced by a new power station built across the Derby canal at the rear of the locomotive works.<ref name=":9" /> This power station was still operating in 1946 when it supplied 19,675 MWh from steam generation and 756 MWh from a waste heat system.<ref name=":8" /> The power station had closed by 1957.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Electrical Journal|title=Electricity Undertakings of the World 1957-8|publisher=Benn Brothers|year=1957|location=London}}</ref>

==See also==

* [[Timeline of the UK electricity supply industry]]

* [[List of power stations in England]]

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* [[Willington Power Station|Wilington power station]]

== References ==

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[[Category:Demolished power stations in the United Kingdom]]

[[Category:Former power stations in England]]

[[Category:Buildings and structures in Derby]]