Salisbury power station
{{Short description|Watermill in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, UK}}
{{Infobox power station
| name = Salisbury power station
| image = File:At Salisbury 2023 007.jpg
| image_caption =
| coordinates = {{Coord|51|04|09|N|01|47|52|W|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| country = England
| location = Salisbury
| status = Decommissioned
| construction_began = 1896
| commissioned = 1898
| decommissioned = 1970
| cost =
| owner = Salisbury Electric Light and Supply Company Limited
(1894–1948)
British Electricity Authority
(1948–1955)
Central Electricity Authority
(1955–1957)
Central Electricity Generating Board
(1958–1970)
| operator = As owner
| employees =
| th_fuel_primary = Coal
| th_fuel_secondary = Water
| th_technology = Steam turbines
| ps_cooling_source = River water
| ps_units_operational = 1 x 0.75 MW, 1 x 0.55 MW, 1 x 1.6 MW
| ps_units_manu_model = English Electric and Brush
| ps_electrical_capacity = 2.9 MW
| ps_electrical_cap_fac =
| ps_annual_generation = 6,061 MWh (1946)
}}
Salisbury power station supplied electricity to the English city of Salisbury and the surrounding area from 1898 to c. 1970. It was owned and operated by Salisbury Electric Light and Supply Company Limited prior to the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948. The power station was redeveloped several times to incorporate new plant to replace retired equipment. The facilities included a water driven turbine.
History
In 1895 Salisbury Electric Light and Supply Company Limited (registered on 20 June 1894) applied for a provisional order under the Electric Lighting Acts to generate and supply electricity to the city.{{Cite book|last=Garcke|first=Emile|title=Manual of Electrical Undertakings 1898-99 vol. 3|publisher=P. S. King and Son|year=1898|isbn=|location=London|pages=302–303}} The {{visible anchor|Salisbury Electric Lighting Order 1895}} was granted by the Board of Trade and was confirmed by Parliament through the Electric Lighting Orders Confirmation (No. 5) Act 1895 (58 & 59 Vict. c. cii).{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Local Acts 1895|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/changes/chron-tables/local/105|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=16 October 2020|website=legislation.gov.uk}}
The power station was built at Town Mill, a former 18th-century water mill on the River Avon, just upstream of Fisherton Bridge in the city centre ({{coord|51|04|09|N|1|47|52|W}}).{{cite web|year=1962|editor-last=Crittall|editor-first=Elizabeth|title=Victoria County History: Wiltshire: Vol 6 pp87-90 – Salisbury: Bridges, bars, gates and mills|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/wilts/vol6/pp87-90|accessdate=17 October 2020|website=British History Online|publisher=University of London}}Ordnance Survey 25 inch England Wiltshire LXVI.11 (Laverstock; Netherhampton; New Sarum), revised 1923, published 1926 It first supplied electricity on 22 June 1898.
Equipment specification
The original plant at the power station comprised a 60 horse-power (45 kW) Gilkes water turbine running at 28 rpm and powered by the River Avon. The turbine was connected via belts to Parker dynamos. The capacity of the plant was 120 kW and there were 1,000 lamps connected to the system. In 1898 a new coal-fired steam plant was being built, equipped with Belliss engines and Parker dynamos.
=Plant in 1923=
By 1923 the generating plant comprised:{{Cite book|last=Electricity Commissioners|title=Electricity Supply – 1920–23|publisher=HMSO|year=1925|isbn=|location=London|pages=200–03, 472–77}}
- Coal-fired boilers generating up to 21,000 lb/h (2.64 kg/s) of steam which was fed to:
- Generators:
- 1 × 90 kW reciprocating engine driving a generator
- 1 × 100 kW reciprocating engine driving a generator
- 1 × 180 kW reciprocating engine driving a generator
- 2 × 200 kW reciprocating engines driving generators
The station also had a 30 kW water turbine. These machines gave a total generating capacity of 800 kW of direct current (DC).
=Plant in 1955=
The plant in 1955 comprised:{{Cite book|last=Garrett|first=Frederick|title=Garcke's Manual of Electricity Supply vol. 56|publisher=Electrical Press|year=1959|isbn=|location=London|pages=A-92, A-133, B-224–25}}
- Boilers:
- 4 × Babcock & Wilcox water tube boilers with a total evaporative capacity 49,000 lb/h (6.2 kg/s), producing steam at 200 psi and 700 °F (13.8 bar, 371 °C) which was fed to:
- Turbo-alternators:
- 1 × English Electric 0.75 MW turbo-alternator, generating at 11 kV
- 1 × English Electric 0.55 MW turbo-alternator, generating at 11 kV
- 1 × Brush 1.60 MW, turbo-alternators, generating at 6.6 kV.
The total installed generating capacity was 2.9 MW, with an output capacity of 3MW.
Condenser cooling water was drawn from the River Avon.
Operations
There was a trend for electricity consumption to increase during the course of the First World War (1914–1919). It was noted the Salisbury (and Taunton) municipal electricity undertakings suffered a fall in electricity sales in this period, associated with the lack of industry in these areas.{{Cite book|last=Hannah|first=Leslie| author-link = Leslie Hannah | title=Electricity before Nationalisation|publisher=Macmillan|year=1979|isbn=0333220862|location=London|pages=}}
=Operating data 1921–23=
The operating data for the period 1921–23 is shown in the table:
| class="wikitable"
|+Salisbury power station operating data 1921–23 ! rowspan="2" |Electricity Use ! rowspan="2" |Units ! colspan="3" |Year |
| 1921
!1922 !1923 |
|---|
| Lighting and domestic use
|MWh |414 |437 |495 |
| Public lighting use
|MWh |0.6 |0.6 |2.4 |
| Traction
|MWh |0 |0 |0 |
| Power use
|MWh |239 |247 |244 |
| Total use
|MWh |653 |685 |741 |
| colspan="5" |Load and connected load |
| Maximum load
|kW |467 |520 |552 |
| Total connections
|kW |2162 |2287 |2375 |
| Load factor
|Per cent |19.6 |18.6 |18.9 |
| colspan="5" |Financial |
| Revenue from sales of current
|£ |– |17,036 |18,151 |
| Surplus of revenue over expenses
|£ |– |8,862 |10,512 |
Under the terms of the Electricity (Supply) Act 1926 (16 & 17 Geo. 5. c. 51){{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Electricity (Supply) Act 1926|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/16-17/51/contents/enacted|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=16 October 2020|website=legislation.gov.uk}} the Central Electricity Board (CEB) was established.{{Cite book|last=Electricity Council|title=Electricity supply in the United Kingdom: a Chronology|publisher=Electricity Council|year=1987|isbn=085188105X|location=London|pages=45, 60, 69, 73}} The CEB identified high efficiency 'selected' power stations that would supply electricity most effectively. The CEB also constructed the national grid (1927–33) to connect power stations within a region.
=Operating data 1946=
Salisbury power station operating data for 1946 was:{{Cite book|last=Electricity Commissioners|title=Generation of Electricity in Great Britain year ended 31 December 1946|publisher=HMSO|year=1947|isbn=|location=London|pages=7}}
| class="wikitable"
|+Salisbury power station operating data in 1946 !Year !Load factor per cent !Max output load MW !Electricity supplied MWh !Thermal efficiency per cent |
| 1946
|41.7 |3,710 |6,061 |13.75 |
The British electricity supply industry was nationalised in 1948 under the provisions of the Electricity Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. 6. c. 54).{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Electricity Act 1947|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo6/10-11/54/contents/enacted|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=16 October 2020|website=legislation.gov.uk}} The Salisbury electricity undertaking was abolished, ownership of Salisbury power station was vested in the British Electricity Authority, and subsequently the Central Electricity Authority and the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB). At the same time the electricity distribution and sales responsibilities of the Salisbury electricity undertaking were transferred to the Southern Electricity Board (SEB).
=Operating data 1954–67=
Operating data for the period 1954–67 is shown in the table:CEGB Annual report and Accounts, 1961, 1962 & 1963CEGB Statistical Yearbook 1967
| class="wikitable"
|+Salisbury power station operating data, 1954–67 !Year !Running hours or load factor (per cent) !Max output capacity MW !Electricity supplied MWh !Thermal efficiency per cent |
| 1954
|1293 |3 |2708 |9.85 |
| 1955
|770 |3 |1698 |9.57 |
| 1956
|1053 |3 |2247 |9.91 |
| 1957
|348 |3 |772 |8.12 |
| 1958
|142 |3 |278 |7.52 |
| 1961
|(1.2 %) |3 |321 |5.71 |
| 1962
|(0.9 %) |3 |224 |6.20 |
| 1963
|(3.62 %) |3 |952 |8.22 |
| 1967
|(4.0 %) |3 |984 |10.7 |
Salisbury power station was part of the Salisbury electricity supply district, an area of 421 square miles, including at least part of the districts of Salisbury, Wilton, Amesbury, Mere, Tisbury, Blandford, Wimborne, Andover and Stockbridge. Consumer supplies were available as AC, 1-phase, 240–480V and 3-phase, 240–415 V.
Closure
Salisbury power station was decommissioned in about 1970.Salisbury is included in the CEGB Statistical Yearbook 1967 but not in the 1972 edition The building was Grade II listed under the name Salisbury Generating Station in 1952.{{National Heritage List for England|num=1243066|desc=Salisbury Generating Station|access-date=17 October 2020}} In 1979 the site was owned by Salisbury City Council who wished to replace the station and surrounding buildings with a hotel, but this did not come to fruition.{{Cite web|last=Moody|first=Frogg|date=31 January 2019|title=HERITAGE: History repeating itself over hotel plans|url=https://www.salisburyjournal.co.uk/news/17389941.1979-saw-plans-100-bedroom-hotel-disused-town-mill/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-10-17|website=Salisbury Journal|language=en}}
See also
{{Commons category}}