Barking Power Station
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| Barking Power Station | |
  Barking Power Station shown within Greater London |
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| OS grid reference | |
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| Operator: | Thames Power Services |
| Fuel: | Gas 1000MW |
Barking Power Station refers to a series of power stations at former and current sites within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, east London. The original power station site (the coal-fired A, B and C stations) was at River Road, Creekmouth, on the north bank of the Thames. These stations were decommissioned in the 1970s and have been demolished. The current gas-fired power station (originally generally known as Barking Reach) is near Dagenham Dock, further down the Thames.
From the late 1890s until the construction of Barking 'A', Barking Urban District Council (later Municipal Borough of Barking) had its own small plant near the UDC offices.
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[edit] Barking A power station
The County of London Electric Supply Company opened Barking Power Station at Creekmouth in 1925. In 1927 it took over from the Barking Urban District Council station to provide a bulk electricity supply. [1] When completed the 'A' station was the largest built in Britain as a complete station at one time. The site was chosen for delivery of coal from the Thames. A cable tunnel was constructed under the river.[2]
[edit] Barking B power station
Barking's original 'A' station was enlarged by the building of 'B' station, which began to operate at full capacity in 1939. The power station was transferred to the London Division of the British Electricity Authority in 1948. [1]
[edit] Barking C power station
The British Electricity Authority (later the CEGB) built a third station at Creekmouth, completed in 1954.
[edit] Barking (Reach) power station
The current station is at Chequers Lane Dagenham, to the west of Dagenham Breach and the Ford motor works. The station was constructed between 1992 and 1995 and was the first major generating station in London for many years. It is one of the largest independently-owned generating plants in the UK, being capable of generating 1000MW of electricity, about 2% of the peak electricity demand in England and Wales.
The station uses Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) technology, with gas as its primary fuel. The station is owned by Barking Power Limited but is operated and managed by Thames Power Services.[3] Unlike the Creekmouth stations, the Dagenham station is located some distance back from the river.
[edit] References
- ^ a b 'The borough of Barking',. A History of the County of Essex: Volume 5 (1966), pp. 235-248. Victoria County History. Retrieved on 2007-12-05.
- ^ Smith, D: Civil Engineering Heritage: London and the Thames Valley, Thomas Telford, 2001, ISBN 0727728768
- ^ Barking Power
