Kingston Power Station was a coal-fired generating station on the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

(later

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness Greatness is a concept of a state of superiority affecting a person or object in a particular place or area. Greatness can also be attributed to individuals who possess a natural ability to be better than al ...

). It ceased generating in 1980 and has been demolished.

History

The first station was built in 1893, with an original capacity of 225 kW. New generating equipment was added as the demand for electricity increased. The generating capacity, maximum load, and electricity generated and sold was as follows: The A station eventually closed in 1959. A new 'B' station was planned before World War II, opening in 1948. The Thames was used both for coal supply and ash removal, and as a source of cooling water. The new station was the first to be opened following nationalisation of the power industry, with the official opening by

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

, the first station to receive such an honour since

Barking Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, a local government district covering the town of Barking ** Municipal Borough of Barking, a historical local government dist ...

in 1924.

Technical specification

In 1923 the plant comprised two 1,250 kW turbo-alternators, these were supplied from the boiler plant which produced a total of 66,000 lb/hr (8.32 kg/s) of steam. Electricity was available at 3-phase AC, 50 Hz at 440, 415 & 240V and single phase AC, 77 Hz at 210 & 105V. In 1923 the station generated 3.448 GWh of electricity, some of this was used in the plant, the total amount sold was 1.888 GWh. The revenue from sales of current was £39,623, this gave a surplus of revenue over expenses of £21,124. By 1966 Kingston B power station had 4 × 30 MW British Thomson-Houston turbo-alternators, giving a generating capacity of 123 MW.''CEGB Statistical Yearbook'' (various years). CEGB, London. The chain grate stoker Stirling boilers had a steam capacity of 1,710,000 lb/hr (215.4 kg/s). The steam conditions at the turbine stop valve were 600 psi (41.4 bar) and 454 °C. The overall thermal efficiency of the station in 1966 was 21.12 per cent. Electricity output from Kingston power station was as follows.GEGB ''Annual report and accounts'', various years Kingston annual electricity output GWh.

Closure

Generation ceased on 27 October 1980 with a generating capacity of 117

megawatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James ...

s. The station was eventually demolished, despite calls for preservation as a power museum. The two 250-foot chimneys were demolished in 1994.

References

{{London Powerstations Coal-fired power stations in England Former power stations in London Demolished power stations in the United Kingdom Demolished buildings and structures in London Power stations on the River Thames Former buildings and structures in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames

History

Technical specification

Closure

See also

References