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Greenwich Power Station

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Coordinates: 51°29′06″N 0°00′04″W / 51.485°N 0.001°W / 51.485; -0.001
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Greenwich Power Station
Greenwich Power Station with The O2 visible in the background.
Map
CountryUnited Kingdom
LocationGreater London
Coordinates51°29′06″N 0°00′04″W / 51.485°N 0.001°W / 51.485; -0.001
StatusOperational
Construction began1902
Commission date1906 (1906)
Thermal power station
Primary fuelGas
Cogeneration?Yes
Power generation
Units operational6
Nameplate capacity155 MW
External links
CommonsRelated media on Commons
[edit on Wikidata]

grid reference TQ389781

Greenwich Power Station is a standby gas and formerly oil and coal-fired power station by the River Thames at Greenwich in south-east London. Since 1988 it has been London Underground's central emergency power supply, providing power if there is partial or total loss of National Grid supplies.

History

The station was designed by William Edward Riley, chief architect of the London County Council architects department,[1] and built in two sections between 1902 and 1910, to provide power for the London County Council Tramways. The first section was formally opened on 26 May 1906 by Sir Evan Spicer, chairman of the County Council.[2] Surplus power was used by other electric tramways and the Underground Electric Railways Company of London. The station originally had a coal-fired boiler house and an engine room. This housed four compound reciprocating steam engines driving flywheel-type alternators with an output of 6,600 volts at 25 Hz.

The station is an early example of a steel-framed building with a stone-clad brick cover.[3] In area it measures 114 m by 59 m, with a maximum roof height of 24 m.[4][a] It is divided into two naves: the west nave, originally the boiler house, is now the turbine hall; the east nave, now largely unused, was the former engine room. The external stock brick walls include Portland stone decorations, notably on the south and north elevations. Corrugated sheeting replaced the original slate roof.[4] The coaling pier was designed by the LCC's chief engineer, Maurice Fitzmaurice.[4]

By 1910 the advantages of steam turbines were well known and four steam turbine alternators were installed in the second stage of the station's building programme. The reciprocating engines installed during the first stage were replaced by steam turbines in 1922.

The two chimneys of stage one were 249 ft (76 m) high but, following objections from the nearby Royal Observatory (the station was immediately below the Prime Meridian and the meridian of the Altazimuth), the chimneys of stage two were reduced to only 180 ft (55 m) height.[3] The taller chimneys were eventually reduced to the height of the later chimneys during a modernisation programme between 1969 and 1972.[3]

The steam turbines were replaced by Rolls-Royce gas turbine generators. These originally burned oil, but were later converted to burn oil and gas. The generators are still housed in what was formerly the boiler house. They have a total capacity of 117.6 megawatts (MW), generated at 11,000 volts. This voltage can be increased to 22,000 volts for connection to the London Underground electricity system.[6] The gas turbines were originally introduced to supplement output from London Underground's west London power station at Lots Road. When Lots Road was shut and LU began to use National Grid power supplies in 1998, Greenwich became LU's central emergency power supply. Its six engines provide power if there is partial or total loss of National Grid supplies, enabling safe evacuation of passengers and staff from London's underground network.[1]

In 2015, TfL instigated a 20-year programme to install up to six new gas engines in Greenwich Power Station's Old Turbine Hall. They were envisaged as providing a steady source of reliable, low carbon power for the Tube as well as hot water and heating for nearby schools and homes.[1][7] However, after local objections about increased air pollution, the proposal was withdrawn at the end of 2016 ‘to allow time for a review of the project to ensure it aligns with the priorities of the new Mayoral administration’.[3] (In 2016, a combined heat and power (CHP) energy centre was constructed on a nearby site on the Greenwich Peninsula to provide district heating to an eventual total of 15,700 properties.)[8][9]

Operations

Coal was delivered to the large coal jetty in the river, which stands on 16 Doric-styled, cast iron columns.[6] From 1927, the coal was then conveyed to then white-painted storage bunkers constructed on the west side of the station (following remedial work in 2013, the bunkers were coloured black).[3] The pier is now no longer used as any oil used at the station now comes by road tanker, and no coal ash needs to be removed via the jetty.

In 2020, the turbines were switched on once per month on average for up to two hours, and TfL was reviewing the power station's future as emergency back-up power provider.[10] In January 2021, a gas turbine generator contained in a unit on the ground floor was destroyed by fire.[11]

The power station with its four distinctive chimneys can be seen in the music video for "The Importance of Being Idle", a song by the English rock band Oasis which reached number one in the UK charts in 2005.[12]

Notes and references

  1. ^ For non-industrial buildings, the Ritz Hotel, 1904-05, was considered to be London's first major steel-framed structure, though an extension at the Savoy Hotel slightly predates it.[5]
  1. ^ a b c "Mayor & TfL launch low carbon future for Greenwich Power Station". Mayor of London. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  2. ^ "Vauxhall-Bridge And Greenwich Electricity Station". The Times. No. 38031. 28 May 1906. p. 11. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Greenwich Power Station". The Royal Observatory Greenwich. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  4. ^ a b c "Greenwich Power Station". Greenwich Industrial History. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  5. ^ Jackson, Alastair A. "The Development of Steel Framed Buildings in Britain 1880–1905" (PDF). Construction History, Vol. 14, 1998. pp. 34 and 37.
  6. ^ a b "Greenwich Power Station - Graces Guide". www.gracesguide.co.uk.
  7. ^ "Low carbon plans announced for Greenwich Power Station". BBC News. 8 January 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  8. ^ "Greenwich Peninsula". Pinnacle Power. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  9. ^ "Low carbon district energy centre / May 27, 2015". Greenpen.London. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  10. ^ Bihari, Andras. "Greenwich Power Station". What Do They Know FOI request. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  11. ^ "Fire at power station - Greenwich". London Fire Brigade. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  12. ^ "Oasis: The Importance of Being Idle (Video 2005)". IMDb. 22 August 2005.
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