| Rugeley power stations | |
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Rugeley B power station viewed in May 2001 |
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| Country | England |
| Location | Rugeley |
| Coordinates | |
| Status | Operational |
| Construction began | A station: 1956 B station: 1970 |
| Commission date | A station: 1961-62 B station: 1970-72 |
| Decommission date | A station: 1994-95 |
| Operator(s) | Central Electricity Generating Board (1961-1990) National Power (1990-2000) International Power (2000-present) |
| Power station information | |
| Primary fuel | Coal |
| Power generation information | |
| Installed capacity | A station: 600 MW B station: 1,000 MW |
| Website http://www.rugeleypower.com/ |
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| grid reference SK056177 | |
The Rugeley power stations are a series of two coal-fired power stations located on the River Trent at Rugeley in Staffordshire. The first power station on the site, Rugeley A power station was opened in 1961, but has since been closed and demolished. Rugeley B power station was commissioned in 1970 and is still operating. It has an output of 1,000 megawatts (MW) and has a 400 kilovolt (kV) connection to the national grid. The B station provides enough electricity to power roughly half a million homes.[1]
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Construction of the A station started in 1956.[2] The station's generating sets were commissioned between 1961 and 1962.[3] The station was the first joint venture between the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) and the National Coal Board (NCB). The station took coal directly from the neighbouring Lea Hall Colliery by conveyor belt.[2] This was the first such arrangement in Britain. The colliery was put into production some 6 months before the first generating unit was commissioned in the power station. The station was officially opened on 1 October 1963 by Lord Robens of Woldingham and Sir Christopher Hinton.
The first of the five cooling towers to be completed at Rugeley in 1960 was the world's first large dry cooling tower, and the first large scale experiment with a design aimed at eliminating water loss.[2] On occasions this tower was used by the RAF for parachute development. Rugeley A was also the first power station in Britain to be controlled entirely from a central control room.[2] The total cost of building it was £30 million.
Construction of Rugeley B power station was began in 1970, with completion of the station in 1972. With both stations in operation, 850 people were employed at the stations in 1983.[2]
The two stations were initially operated by the Central Electricity Generating Board, but following privatisation in 1990, were handed over to National Power. The Lea Hall colliery was closed in October 1990, meaning all coal burned in the stations needed to be delivered by rail.[2] A couple of years later the closure of the A station began. Two of the stations generating units were decommissioned in 1994, with the other three following in 1995.[3] Having burned nearly 42 million tonnes of coal in its life time, the station was demolished later in 1995.[2]
A Flue Gas Desulfurization plant was constructed and commissioned at the B station in 2009. This will allow it to comply with environmental legislation and continue to generate electricity.
146 people are currently employed in the station.[2]
The station had five 120 MW generating sets which gave it a generating capacity of 600 megawatts.
The Rugeley B station uses two 500 MW generating sets, which can produce 8,760,000 MWh each year.[4] The station usually burns 1.6 million tonnes of coal a year, producing 240,000 tonnes of ash.[5] The station's boilers produce 1,100 tonnes of steam per hour, at a temperature of 568 degrees Celsius.[2]
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