Sunderland Power Station

Sunderland Power Station was a coal-fired power station situated on the bank of the River Wear, in the city centre of Sunderland, in Tyne and Wear, North East England. The station was initially built in 1901 by the Sunderland Corporation and had several extensions added.[2]

Sunderland Power Station
Official name	Sunderland power station
Country	England
Location	Tyne and Wear, North East England
Coordinates	54.911609°N 1.396324°W
Status	Decommissioned and demolished
Construction began	1898
Commission date	c.1900 (extended 1926)[1]
Decommission date	1976
Owner(s)	Sunderland Corporation (1901-1948) British Electricity Authority (1948–1955) Central Electricity Authority (1955–1957) Central Electricity Generating Board (1948-1976)
Operator(s)	As owner
Thermal power station
Primary fuel	Coal
External links
Commons	Related media on Commons
grid reference NZ388576

History

In 1923 the plant comprised six 750 kW reciprocating machines, and 1 × 2,000 kW, 1 × 5,000 kW and 1 × 6,000 kW turbo-alternators, a total generating capacity of 17,500 kW.[3] These were supplied from boilers with a total output of 326,000 pounds per hour (41.1 kg/s) of steam. In 1923 the station generated 18.747 GWh of electricity, and sold 15.319 GWh for £128,326 making a surplus of revenue over profit of £56,559 for the Corporation.[3]

New plant was added to the station in 1925-26 (LP sets) and in 1942 (HP sets) and some of the old plant was removed.[4]  When completed the generating plant comprised two Brush 20 MW and two Fraser & Chalmers-GEC 10 MW turbo-alternators. The boiler plant comprised three Clarke Chapman 121,000 lb/hr, 450 psi and 850°F (15.2 kg/s, 31.0 bar and 454°C) ; two Clarke Chapman, two Vickers Spearing and two Spearing boilers each producing 50,000 lb/hr of steam at 260 psi and 660°F (6.30 kg/s, 17.9 bar and 349°C).[4]

There was a concrete cooling tower with a capacity of 1.65 million gallons per hour (2.08 m³/s) and a wooden cooling tower with a capacity of 1.25 million gallons per hour (1.57 m³/s).[4]

Upon nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948 ownership of the power station was vested in the British Electricity Authority (1948–55), then the Central Electricity Authority (1955–57), and the Central Electricity Generating Board (1958–76).

By 1971 the station had a generating capacity of 40 MW. The coal fired boilers had the capacity to deliver 363,000 lb/h (45.7 kg/s) of steam at 400 psi (27.6 bar) and 427°C.[5]

The generating capacity and output from Sunderland power station is given in the following table.[4][5][6]

Sunderland electricity capacity and output

Year	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1961	1962	1963	1967	1972
Installed capacity, MW	49	49	49	49	49	60	60	60	40	40
Electricity output, GWh	142.96	154.06	123.21	109.33	118.12	82.53	129.79	134.6	59.1	69.60

The station operated into the 1970s,[7] but in October 1975, the Central Electricity Generating Board gave 12 months notification of the station's closure.[8] It finally closed on 25 October 1976, with a generating capacity of 34 megawatts.[9] The station was then demolished in 1979.[10] The cooling tower in particular was demolished in February of that year. The power station's site is now occupied by a PC World outlet.[11]

In 1962 the station was featured in L. S. Lowry's painting of Sunderland's dockside. The painting is now in the collection of Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens.[12]

References

1. Cordner, Chris (11 November 2016). "How The Lights Were First Switched On In Sunderland". Sunderland Echo. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
2. "How lights were first switched on". Sunderland Echo. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
3. Electricity Commission (1925). Electricity Supply - 1920-1923. London: HMSO. pp. 90–93, 320–325.
4. Garrett, Frederick C. (ed) (1959). Garcke's Manual of Electricity Supply. London: Electrical Press. pp. A-98, A-135.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
5. CEGB (1972). CEGB Statistical Yearbook 1972. London: CEGB. p. 15.
6. CEGB Annual report and Accounts, 1961, 1962 & 1963
7. Stafford Linsley (1973). "Landscape photo looking through the Wearmouth Railway Bridge at the power station in the Ayres Quay area". Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 28 December 2008.
8. Mr. Eadie (5 December 1975). "Power Stations". Hansard. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
9. Mr. Redmond (16 January 1984). "Coal-fired Power Stations". Hansard. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
10. Marshall, Ray (3 April 2007). "THE Fred Dibnahs of this world are few and far between. They take their lives in their hands to bring down unwanted buildings in one fell swoop, or one almighty explosion". Evening Chronicle. Retrieved 28 December 2008.
11. pinzac55 (20 May 2009). "Sunderland Power Station Demolition (4) Feb 1979". Flickr. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
12. "L S Lowry in the North East". Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums. Archived from the original on 4 May 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.

External links

• Flickr - photos of the station's cooling tower demolition