Dunston Power Station

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Coordinates: 54.95062342835162° N 1.6571643210106° W

Dunston Power Station
Dunston Power Station, 1971.
Dunston Power Station shown within Tyne and Wear
OS grid reference	NZ219629
Fuel:	Coal-fired 300MW
Commissioned:	1910
Decommissioned:	1980

Dunston Power Station was a coal-fired power station west of Dunston, near Newcastle upon Tyne. The station was comprised of Dunston A Power Station and Dunston B Power Station, and extension built before and after the Second World War. The station was an early example of the use of reheat steam in turbines and was amongst Britain's most efficient until the 1950s. The plant was cooled by water from the Tyne, instead of using cooling towers. Coal for the station was supplied from various pits in the North Durham coalfields such as Marley Hill. Electricity from the station powered areas in Cumberland, Yorkshire and north to Galashiels.^[1] The station featured as the backdrop to a scene in the 1971 gangster movie Get Carter. The station ceased to generate electricity in 1980 and was demolished in 1981 to make way for the MetroCentre. A Costco cash and carry now stands on the site of the power station.

[edit] Dunston A power station

The construction of the first power station on this site began in 1908. Dunston A Power Station was opened in 1910.

[edit] Dunston B power station

Dunston B station was an extension of the original power station as part of a transition from the 40 Hz system formerly used by the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Electric Supply Company to the 50 Hz system used by the new UK National Grid. The station was designed by consulting engineers Merz & McLellan and commissioned in January 1933. Construction was completed in 1951. It differed from other designs by enclosing the machinery in glass, instead of the more usual concrete wall. Dunston B power station was the first power station in the UK to use this type of design and is possibly the first power station in the world to do so. The final capacity of the plant was 300 megawatts, provided by six 50 megawatt generating sets.