Hams Hall power stations

Hams Hall Power Station refers to a series of three, now demolished coal-fired power stations, situated in Warwickshire in the West Midlands of England, 9 miles (14 km) northwest of Birmingham city centre.

Hams Hall Power Station
Hams Hall B and C power stations Viewed from the east in August 1984
Country	England
Location	Warwickshire, West Midlands
Coordinates	52.524608°N 1.705175°W / 52.524608; -1.705175
Status	Decommissioned and demolished
Construction began	A: 1927, B: 1937, C: 1953
Commission date	A: 1928, B: 1942, C: 1956
Decommission date	A: 1975, B: 1981, C: 1992
Operator(s)	City of Birmingham Electricity Supply Department (1928–1948) British Electricity Authority (1948–1955) Central Electricity Authority (1955–1957) Central Electricity Generating Board (1958–1990)
Thermal power station
Primary fuel	Coal
Cooling source	River water and cooling towers
Power generation
Units operational	C station: 6 × 65 MW
External links
Commons	Related media on Commons
grid reference SP201919

History

Target dossier of the German Luftwaffe targeting Hams Hall power station, 1939

Hams Hall A

Following the death of Lord Norton in 1905, his estate was put up for sale in 1911. Part of the house was rebuilt near Cirencester, but the rest was demolished in 1920. Birmingham Corporation Electricity Supply Committee thought Hams Hall a suitable site to build a power station because of a ready supply of water in the Tame Valley, and nearness to the Warwickshire Coalfield and the Midland Railway. It was felt the Nechells power station under construction in 1919 would only have sufficient capacity to meet the needs of Birmingham for ten years.^[1] Hams Hall Power Station was constructed by the municipally owned City of Birmingham Electricity Supply Department^[2] on the site in 1928.^[3] It was opened on 6 November 1929, equipped with two Fraser & Chalmers 30,000 kW turbo-alternators.^[4] The generating capacity of the site was progressively increased to 240,000 kW. The station burned approximately 774,000 tonnes of coal a year. At the time, it was one of the largest power stations in Europe.^[5]

The station was also the first power station in the United Kingdom to burn pulverised coal, rather than lumps of coal. It was also used as a prototype site for the installation of gas turbines in coal-fired plants. Water for the station was cooled by six reinforced concrete hyperbolic cooling towers.^[5] At the time, these were the largest cooling towers ever built. The station had two 350 feet (110 m) tall chimneys.

In 1962 a 15 MW Bristol Siddeley Olympus aircraft gas turbine was commissioned. It was used to assess the suitability of aircraft gas turbine generators for meeting peak-load and emergency requirements.^[6] The installed capacity and electricity output is summarised in the table.^{[7][8][9][10][11][12]}

Hams Hall A electricity capacity and output

Year	1946	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1961	1962	1963	1967	1971	1979
Installed capacity, MW		230	230	230	230	230	261.7	261.7	261.7	255	165	15
Electricity output, GWh	810	352	423	397	314	163	109.6	118.8	224.6	213.3	47	0.91

The station's closure was announced in 1975, following a fall in electricity consumption. By the time of its closure its generating capacity had fallen to 151 MW.^[13] The station's chimneys and cooling towers were demolished in 1978. A gas-turbine rated at 15 MW associated with the A station was operational in 1980.^[8]

During World War Two (WW") the station given its strategic value was guarded by the regular army till September 1942 (probably an anti-aircraft battery and a Home Guard company (formed from the staff; they also guarded the Nechells power stations) which remained on guard till being stood down on 1st October 1944. Before war was declared cables nearby were damaged by explosives - a rare example of possible sabotage. The Home Guard website records both power station sites were attacked (minus details).^[14]

Hams Hall B

The second station on the site, Hams Hall B Power Station, was planned in 1937. It began generating electricity in 1942. The station was expanded between 1946 and 1949.^[15] In 1947 the B station had the highest thermal efficiency of any plant in the UK.^[6] The station had a generating capacity of 160,500 kW. With its completion the two stations formed the greatest concentration of generating plant in Europe.^[16] Its water was cooled by four cooling towers.^[5] The station used Parsons turbo-alternators.^[17] These were supplied with steam from the Stirling (4) and Yarrow (4) boilers which delivered 450.0 kg/s of steam at 44.8 bar and 441 °C. In 1980/1 the station sent out just 575 MWh.^[8]

In December 1945 there was complaint about pollution from the station. This was caused by a corroded metal connection between the boilers and the chimneys. The pollution continued until 1948, when the connection was eventually replaced.^[18]

The combined Hams Hall "A" and "B" stations were nationalised on 1 April 1948 under the terms of the Electricity Act, 1947. The installed capacity and electricity output is summarised in the table.^{[7][8][9][10][11][12]}

Hams Hall B electricity capacity and output

Year	1946	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1961	1962	1963	1967	1971	1979	1981
Installed capacity, MW		300	300	300	300	300	348	348	348	330	330	330	330
Electricity output, GWh	989	1,519	1,615	1,692	1,510	1,305	1241.5	1287	1175	1110	835	431	0.6

The station closed on 26 October 1981 after 39 years of operation. It had a generating capacity of 306 MW at the time of its closure.^[19] Its four cooling towers were demolished in November 1985, with chimney number 2 going down in September 1988.

Hams Hall C

The third, final station to be constructed on the site was Hams Hall C Power Station, built in the 1950s and commissioned between 1956 and 1958.^[20] The station's water was cooled by three 350 feet (110 m) high natural draft cooling towers.^[21] It generated 357 MW of electricity using six generating sets each of 65 MW.^[20][8] The turbo-alternators were supplied with steam from the boilers which produced 788 kg/s of steam at 241.3/158.6 bar and 593/566 °C.^[8] In 1980/1 the station sent out 3,439.623 GWh, the thermal efficiency was 29.60 per cent.^[8]

In 1968, the station was under consideration to be converted to fuelled by natural gas, after a successful experimental trial of the fuel in one of the station's boilers earlier in the year.^[22][23] In October 1968 permission for the conversion was refused due to difficulties in the coal industry.^[24] Despite this, talk of conversion started again in 1970, and following discussion with the National Coal Board and the National Union of Mineworkers, permission was granted for the station to co-fire coal and natural gas.^[25] The installed capacity and electricity output is summarised in the table.^{[7][8][9][10][11]}

Hams Hall C electricity capacity and output

Year	1957	1958	1961	1962	1963	1967	1971	1979	1981	1982
Installed capacity, MW	112	280	390	390	390	390	390	390	390	390
Electricity output, GWh	223	1,334	2,344	2,334	2,255	1,972	2,592	1,392	366	793

Following privatisation in 1990, the station was operated by Powergen.^[5] The C station closed in 1992.^[20] Its two chimneys and three cooling towers were demolished on 15 December 1993, under darkness.

Proposed D station

In 1968 the site was considered for a fourth power station. The CEGB made routine investigations into the feasibility of a D station, but nothing was ever built.^[26]

Post closure

Main article: Hams Hall Distribution Park

After closure and demolition of the power stations an industrial estate was constructed on the site. Alfred McAlpine were involved in the construction work of the new estate.^[27] The site is still owned by E.ON, the current form of PowerGen, and known as Hams Hall Distribution Park.^[28]

See also

• Nechells power stations

References

1. "Cheaper electricity: Hams Hall Estate as Power Station site". Birmingham Daily Gazette. No. 23383. 21 February 1919. p. 3. Retrieved 11 May 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
2. City of Birmingham Handbook 1930
3. "Lea Marston. Hams Hall Power Station". 2006. Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2009.
4. "New Birmingham Power Station". Tamworth Herald. British Newspaper Archive. 9 November 1929. p. 2. (subscription required)
5. beno (7 February 2005). "Former Hams Hall Power Stations". Retrieved 11 February 2009.
6. The Electricity Council (1987). Electricity Supply in the United Kingdom: a Chronology. London: The Electricity Council. pp. 56, 84. ISBN 085188105X.
7. Garrett, Frederick C., ed. (1959). Garcke's Manual of Electricity Supply vol.56. London: Electrical Press. pp. A-60–61, A-122.
8. CEGB (1981). CEGB Statistical Yearbook 1980-81. London: CEGB. p. 7.
9. CEGB (1972). CEGB Statistical Yearbook 1972. London: CEGB. p. 13.
10. CEGB (1982). CEGB Statistical Yearbook 1981-82. London: CEGB. p. 7. ISBN 0902543695.
11. CEGB, Annual report and accounts, 1961, 1962 & 1963
12. Electricity Commission, Generation of Electricity in Great Britain year ended 31st December 1946. London: HMSO, 1947.
13. Mr. Patrick McNair-Wilson (15 October 1975). "Power Stations". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Retrieved 15 August 2009.
14. "Staffs Home Guard Memories 134B 29th Warwickshire (Birmingham) Battalion - City Utilities - Gas, Water, Electricity, Salvage and Council Offices - e Company".
15. "Lea Marston. Hams Hall Power Station 'B' Plant". 2006. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
16. Electricity supply in the United Kingdom : a chronology - from the beginnings of the industry to 31 December 1985. Electricity Council. The Council. 1987. ISBN 085188105X. OCLC 17343802.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
17. "Lea Marston. Hams Hall Power Station". 2006. Retrieved 11 February 2009.
18. Sir John Mellor; Mr. Gaitskell (29 April 1948). "Power Station, Ham's Hall (Atmospheric Pollution)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Retrieved 15 August 2009.
19. Mr. Redmond (16 January 1984). "Coal-fired Power Stations". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Retrieved 1 September 2009.
20. "Generation disconnections since 1991". 2003. Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
21. D Campion (May–June 1983). "Bird Life: Hams Hall Cormorants". Archived from the original on 11 June 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
22. "Hams Hall C Power Station". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 10 July 1968. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
23. Mr. Speed; Mr. Freeson (30 May 1968). "Hams Hall Power Stations (Natural Gas)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Retrieved 15 August 2009.
24. Mason, Roy (15 October 1968). "Hams Hall C Generating Station". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Retrieved 15 August 2009.
25. Mr. Leslie Huckfield; Mr. Harold Lever; Mr. G. Elfed Davies (21 April 1970). "Hams Hall Power Station". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Retrieved 15 August 2009.
26. Mr. Speed; Mr. Mason (19 November 1968). "Proposed Generating Station, Hams Hall". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Retrieved 15 August 2009.
27. "McDermott Construction". 9 June 2005. Archived from the original on 4 February 2002. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
28. "Hams Hall". E.ON. Archived from the original on 25 July 2008. Retrieved 12 February 2009.

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