Ironbridge Power Station
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The Ironbridge power stations (also known as the Buildwas power stations) refers to two power stations that occupied a site on the banks of the
River Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...
at
Buildwas Buildwas is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England, on the north bank of the River Severn at . It lies on the B4380 road between Atcham and Ironbridge. The Royal Mail postcodes begin TF6 and TF8. Buildwas Primary Academy is sit ...
in Shropshire, England. The Ironbridge B Power Station was operated by
E.ON UK E.ON UK is a British energy company and one of the largest suppliers of energy in the UK, following its acquisition of Npower. It is a subsidiary of E.ON of Germany and one of the Big Six energy suppliers. It was founded in 1989 as Powergen, ...
but the site is now owned by Haworth Group. The station stands near the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site. Originally powered by coal, they were converted to use 100%
biomass fuel Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels such as oil. Biofuel can be produced from plants or from agricultural, domestic o ...
. Ironbridge B Power Station stopped generating electricity on 20 November 2015, with the decommissioning process continuing into 2017. The main phase of the 27-month demolition process began at 11:00 GMT on 6 December 2019, commencing with the four cooling towers.


Ironbridge A (1932–1981)


Site selection

Ironbridge was selected to be the site of a large, modern "super station" by the
West Midlands Joint Electricity Authority The West Midlands Joint Electricity Authority was a United Kingdom statutory body established in 1925 with the responsibility to "provide or secure the provision of a cheap and abundant supply of electricity” in the Midland counties of Shropshir ...
, in February 1927. The land had been identified earlier by Walsall Borough as being suitable for power generation, in 1924. The close proximity of the
River Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...
and several
railway lines Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
provided excellent access to both cooling water and a source for the delivery of coal. The flat land of the site, formed by
fluvial processes In geography and geology, fluvial sediment processes or fluvial sediment transport are associated with rivers and streams and the Deposition (geology), deposits and landforms created by sediments. It can result in the formation of ripple marks, r ...
at the end of the last ice-age, was ideal for the construction of a large
turbine hall The turbine hall, generating hall or turbine building is a building or room in any steam cycle or hydroelectric power plant which houses a number of components vital to the generation of electricity from the steam that comes from the boiler, or ...
.


Design and specification

Construction of the first Ironbridge Power Station (later to become known as Ironbridge A Power Station) began in 1929, and the first phase was completed in 1932. The station officially opened on 13 October 1932. The full generating capacity of Ironbridge A was not realised until major expansions and the commissioning of extra boilers and generating sets had been completed in 1939. This gave the A Station a total generating output of 200 megawatts (MW). The generating capacity and
thermal efficiency In thermodynamics, the thermal efficiency (\eta_) is a dimensionless performance measure of a device that uses thermal energy, such as an internal combustion engine, steam turbine, steam engine, boiler, furnace, refrigerator, ACs etc. For ...
were as shown in the table.CEGB Statistical Yearbooks 1972-1982, CEGB London. As a result of the increasing demand for electricity after
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, it was decided by the
Central Electricity Generating Board The Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) was responsible for electricity generation, transmission and bulk sales in England and Wales from 1958 until privatisation of the electricity industry in the 1990s. It was established on 1 Januar ...
that a new, larger, 1,000 MW power station called Ironbridge B, was to be constructed alongside the A station. The A station was partially closed on 27 October 1980, with the decommissioning of 100 MW of the station's generating capacity. The remainder of the station's capacity ceased generating electricity in 1981 and significant portions of the station were demolished in 1983 prior to being granted listed building status.


Ironbridge B (1969–2015)

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approval for Ironbridge B Power Station was sought and granted in 1962. Construction began in 1963, with the aim to begin generating electricity in the station in 1967. Due to construction delays, some limited industrial action and the implementation of improvements that had been pioneered during the construction of similar stations using the new 500 MW generating units, Ironbridge B did not begin feeding power into the National Grid until 11 June 1969. Full capacity was not reached until the second 500 MW unit began generating in February 1970. There were 2 × 17.5 MW auxiliary gas turbines on the site, these had been commissioned in August 1967. Ironbridge B Power Station stopped generating electricity on 20 November 2015 when it reached its 20,000 hours limit of generation under a
European Union Directive A directive is a legal act of the European Union that requires member states to achieve particular goals without dictating how the member states achieve those goals. A directive's goals have to be made the goals of one or more new or changed n ...
.


Design

Project architect Alan Clark worked closely with landscape architect Kenneth Booth, to ensure that the station merged as far as possible into its natural surroundings. In this respect, the power station was unique amongst British coal-fired stations. When viewed from
Ironbridge Ironbridge is a riverside village in the borough of Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire, England. Located on the bank of the River Severn, at the heart of the Ironbridge Gorge, it lies in the civil parish of The Gorge. Ironbridge developed beside, ...
, the surroundings of the station were hidden by wooded hills. The
cooling tower A cooling tower is a device that rejects waste heat to the atmosphere through the cooling of a coolant stream, usually a water stream, to a lower temperature. Cooling towers may either use the evaporation of water to remove heat and cool the ...
s were deliberately constructed using concrete to which a red
pigment A pigment is a powder used to add or alter color or change visual appearance. Pigments are completely or nearly solubility, insoluble and reactivity (chemistry), chemically unreactive in water or another medium; in contrast, dyes are colored sub ...
had been added, to blend with the colour of the local soil. This had cost £11,000 in the 1960s. The towers could not be seen at all from the world-famous landmark,
The Iron Bridge The Iron Bridge is a cast iron arch bridge that crosses the River Severn in Shropshire, England. Opened in 1781, it was the first major bridge in the world to be made of cast iron. Its success inspired the widespread use of cast iron as a str ...
. The station's single high
chimney A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typical ...
was fifth tallest chimney in the UK. It was the tallest structure in
Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...
, as well as being taller than
Blackpool Tower Blackpool Tower is a tourist attraction in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which was opened to the public on 14 May 1894. When it opened, Blackpool Tower was the tallest man-made structure in the British Empire. Inspired by the Eiffel Tower in P ...
and London's
BT Tower The BT Communications Tower, also known simply as the BT Tower, is a Listed building, grade II listed Radio masts and towers, communications tower in Fitzrovia, London, England, owned by BT Group. It has also been known as the GPO Tower, the P ...
. The station's
turbine hall The turbine hall, generating hall or turbine building is a building or room in any steam cycle or hydroelectric power plant which houses a number of components vital to the generation of electricity from the steam that comes from the boiler, or ...
was decoratively clad in chipped
granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...
faced concrete panels, aluminium sheeting, and glazing. The turbine hall obscured the rather more functional metal clad boiler house from view. A free-standing administration block continued the theme of concrete panelling, albeit with extensive use of large floor to ceiling windows. Period fittings within the administration block included a board room, containing
mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...
s that referenced the industries of the Ironbridge Gorge, and a grand entrance hall with a metallic mural. So impressive were the measures taken to ensure that the power station was an asset to the gorge and not an eyesore, that it was short listed for a
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is a global professional body for those working in the Built Environment, Construction, Land, Property and Real Estate. The RICS was founded in London in 1868. It works at a cross-governmental ...
/
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conservation award in 1973.


Specification

When fully operational and using 100% coal as a fuel source the power station generated electricity using two 500 MW generating sets. The turbines' blades were long each and when the turbines spun at their usual fixed speed of 3,000 rpm, the outermost tip of the last row of blades travel at approximately 2,000 km/h. The boilers operated on pulverised coal and delivered 844 kg/s of steam at 158.6 bar and 566 °C. In the financial year 1980/1 the station sent out 5,285.937 GWh, the thermal efficiency was 33.13 per cent. The station used low
NOx In atmospheric chemistry, is shorthand for nitric oxide () and nitrogen dioxide (), the nitrogen oxides that are most relevant for air pollution. These gases contribute to the formation of smog and acid rain, as well as affecting tro ...
burners and
electrostatic precipitator An electrostatic precipitator (ESP) is a filterless device that removes fine particles, such as dust and smoke, from a flowing gas using the force of an induced electrostatic charge minimally impeding the flow of gases through the unit. In c ...
s to reduce its environmental impact. The majority of the station's ash waste was sold to the construction industry.


Electricity output

The generating capacity and thermal efficiency were as shown in the table.


Coal supplies and rail access

Until June 2010, approximately 3000 – 6000
tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000  kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the s ...
s of coal was delivered to the power station every day, via a
branch line A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Branch lines may serve one or more industries, or a city or town not located ...
railway through Madeley,
Ironbridge Ironbridge is a riverside village in the borough of Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire, England. Located on the bank of the River Severn, at the heart of the Ironbridge Gorge, it lies in the civil parish of The Gorge. Ironbridge developed beside, ...
and
Coalbrookdale Coalbrookdale is a town in the Ironbridge Gorge and the Telford and Wrekin borough of Shropshire, England, containing a settlement of great significance in the history of iron ore smelting. It lies within the civil parish called The Gorge, Shro ...
, crossing the
River Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...
via the
Grade 2 Listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
Albert Edward Bridge. The railway branch joins the
Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury line Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...
at Madeley Junction. Coal was delivered variously by DBS, Freightliner and Fastline. After the trains were emptied, they were usually stabled at Warrington Arpley Yard. From 2014 until closure, an additional three trains per day were worked by
GB Railfreight GB Railfreight (GBRf) is a rail freight company in the United Kingdom. As of 2022, it is owned by the global investment company Infracapital, itself a subsidiary of M&G plc, a UK investment group. GB Railfreight was established in April 1999 ...
from
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
dock with biomass chips, which were the main source of feedstock for the power station by then. Scheduled passenger services on the branch line were stopped in the 1960s, and so the line was kept open primarily for the transportation of coal to the power station. A steam locomotive-hauled special passenger train, organised by railtour company 'Vintage Trains', visited the branch line on 3 November 2007. The tour was entitled ''Pannier to Ironbridge'', and was hauled by former
Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...
0-6-0 is the Whyte notation designation for steam locomotives with a wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels. Historically, this was the most common wheel arrangement used o ...
Pannier tank A tank locomotive is a steam locomotive which carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of a more traditional tender (rail), tender. Most tank engines also have Fuel bunker, bunkers (or fuel tanks) to hold fuel; in a #Tender ...
No. 9466, which ran a return trip between
Tyseley Tyseley is a district in the southern half of the city of Birmingham, England, near the Coventry Road and the districts of Acocks Green, Small Heath and Yardley. It is located near the Grand Union Canal. Etymology Tyseley means "Tyssa's clear ...
, near Birmingham, and Ironbridge.


Ownership

In 1990 the
CEGB The Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) was responsible for electricity generation, transmission and bulk sales in England and Wales from 1958 until privatisation of the electricity industry in the 1990s. It was established on 1 Janua ...
was split into different companies for
privatisation Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...
, and Ironbridge Power Station went through a number of ownership transfers before eventually being owned by Powergen. In 2001 Powergen was taken over by
E.ON E.ON SE is a European multinational electric utility company based in Essen, Germany. It operates as one of the world's largest investor-owned electric utility service providers. The name originates from the Latin word '' aeon'', derived from ...
, an energy company based in Germany. On 10 October 1998, one of the turbines caught fire, resulting in an explosion within the turbine hall. The entire turbine hall required repairs. The station was the last major generator of electricity in Shropshire. The plant consumed about 1.2 million tonnes of coal and 20,000 tonnes of oil each year, and generated 2,990 GWh of electricity in 2004. Environmental group
Friends of the Earth Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) is an international network of grassroots environmental organizations in 73 countries. About half of the member groups call themselves "Friends of the Earth" in their own languages; the others use other ...
claimed in 2006 the station was the second worst polluting power station in the United Kingdom per megawatt output. Ironbridge had been opted out of the
Large Combustion Plant Directive The Large Combustion Plant Directive (LCPD, 2001/80/EC) is a European Union directive which required member states of the European Union to legislatively limit flue gas emissions from combustion plant having thermal capacity of 50 MW or grea ...
, which meant the station would only be allowed to operate for up to 20,000 hours after 1 January 2008, and that it must close by 31 December 2015. In 2012 Ironbridge underwent modification to allow both generating units to run on 100% biomass (wooden pellets). This reduced the generating capacity from 500MW per unit to approximately 370MW per unit. In February 2014 fire damaged Unit 1 turbine and generator in Ironbridge B, and in May E.ON announced that the 370 MW unit would not be repaired, reducing the plant's generation capacity.


Decommissioning and future development

Following the switch off of Ironbridge B Power Station on 20 November 2015, work began on decommissioning the power station, and was expected to last into 2017. Initial demolition of the site started in July 2017 when the conveyors for the transport of coal and the associated workings were taken down. The rest of the site was to be demolished by the end of 2018 although opinion was divided on whether to demolish or keep the unique 'pink' cooling towers. Locals had sought to save the towers from demolition but English Heritage previously said the towers could not be protected as they do not meet strict criteria. The cooling towers were demolished as planned on Friday 6 December 2019 at 11am. The stations 'Tank Bay' building was demolished on 23 January 2021 at around 11am. The demolition could be heard as far as 3 miles away. The boiler house was demolished on 1 March 2021. The station's chimney was demolished on 3 September 2021. Once fully cleared, the site is to make space for over 1,000 homes, shops and other buildings. The
Telford Steam Railway The Telford Steam Railway (TSR) is a heritage railway located at Horsehay, Telford in Shropshire, England, formed in 1976. The railway is operated by volunteers on Sundays and Bank holiday, Bank Holidays from Easter to the end of September, an ...
has aspirations to take over the now disused railway track between the power station and
Lightmoor Junction Lightmoor Junction was a railway junction between Ironbridge Power Station at Buildwas and Madeley Junction in Shropshire, England. From Lightmoor Junction, a line ran towards Wellington (Shropshire) railway station, Wellington via Doseley and ...
, as part of their southern extension from
Horsehay Horsehay is a suburban village on the western outskirts of Dawley in the Telford and Wrekin borough of Shropshire, England. Horsehay lies in the Dawley Hamlets parish, and on the northern edge of the Ironbridge Gorge area. Horsehay used to hav ...
through Doseley. It is unknown how this would interact with trains from the national network should a passenger service be introduced to the new development. In June 2018,
Harworth Group Harworth Group plc ("Harworth") is a property developer that specialises in regenerating brownfield sites in Yorkshire, the Midlands, and North West England. The company is headquartered in Rotherham in South Yorkshire. It is listed on the Londo ...
announced that it had bought the Ironbridge power station site for an undisclosed sum. Plans for the site included the development of 'several hundred new homes' together with commercial development, leisure uses and significant public open space. An outline planning application for a development including 1,000 new homes and other facilities was submitted to both
Shropshire Council Shropshire Council, known between 1980 and 2009 as Shropshire County Council and prior to 1980 as Salop County Council, is the Local government in England, local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Shropshire (district), Shropshire in t ...
and
Telford and Wrekin Council Telford and Wrekin Council is the local authority of Telford and Wrekin in the ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. It was founded in 1974 as The Wrekin District Council, and was a lower-tier district council until 1998. The district was r ...
on 19 December 2019. The plan was initially rejected by Shropshire Council's Southern Planning Committee in August 2021 over a number of issues including the level of guaranteed affordable housing, but was granted in September 2021 after amended proposals were submitted.


See also

*
List of tallest structures in the United Kingdom This list contains all types of structures in height or more, which is the accepted criterion for a building to qualify as a skyscraper in the United Kingdom. Entries in ''italics'' denote approximate figures. indicates a structure that h ...


References


External links


Photo of Ironbridge 'A' Station

Photo of Ironbridge 'B' Station

Advanced Plant Management System
{{West Midlands powerstations River Severn Buildings and structures in Shropshire E.ON 1932 establishments in England 2015 disestablishments in England Coal-fired power stations in England Former power stations in England Power stations in the West Midlands (region) Shrewsbury and Atcham Ironbridge Gorge Ironbridge Coalbrookdale