{{Short description|Coal-fired power station in Lancashire, England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2014}} {{Use British English|date=March 2014}} {{Infobox power station | name = Padiham Power Station | image = Padiham Power Station.PNG | image_caption = Padiham B in the 1980s | coordinates = {{coord|53.795488|-2.327372|region:GB_type:landmark|display=inline,title}} | country = England | location = [[Lancashire]], [[North West England]] | operator = [[Lancashire Electric Power Company]] | th_fuel_primary = [[Coal]] | construction_began = 1924 (Padiham A)<br>1957 (Padiham B) | commissioned = 1926 (Padiham A)<br>1962 (Padiham B) | decommissioned = 1969 (Padiham A)<br>1993 (Padiham B) | extra = {{gbmapping|SD792333}} }}
'''Padiham Power Station''' was a [[Fossil fuel power plant|coal-fired power station]] in [[Padiham]], east [[Lancashire]], England, which began operation in 1926 and generated power from 1927 until it was closed in 1993. [[File:Padiham 1948 Old OS map - central part.jpg|thumb|right|256px|1948 [[Ordnance Survey]] map showing power lines heading south-east and then due south from the power station located on the north-west bank of the river Calder.]]
==Location== The plant was located on the north bank of the [[River Calder, Lancashire|River Calder]] just west of the town. It was also known as [[Hapton, Lancashire|Hapton]] or [[Simonstone, Lancashire|Simonstone]] Power Station being close to all of the villages. Since the station closed, the site has been used for a modern business park, ''Shuttleworth Mead''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ribbleindustrialestatesltd.co.uk/|title=Shuttleworth Mead Business Park|accessdate=11 February 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/corporate/web/?REMADE/20211|title=Lancashire County Council proposals for public footpath July 2009|accessdate=11 February 2010|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120804143825/http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/corporate/web/?REMADE/20211|archive-date=4 August 2012}}</ref>
==History== ===Padiham A=== The [[Lancashire Electric Power Company]]'s proposal to build a [[coal]]-fired plant at Padiham (known as Padiham 'A') was approved in 1924 for a 12,000 kW station. By March 1925 two 6,000 kW alternator sets had been ordered, the sidings for delivery of coal by rail completed and work commenced on foundations.<ref name="Clarke">{{cite web|url=http://www.mikeclarke.myzen.co.uk/ElecChron.htm|title=The Development of Electrical Power in East Lancashire|first=Mike|last=Clarke|accessdate=12 February 2010}}</ref> It was the second of three stations built by the company.
The [[Electricity (Supply) Act 1926]] ([[16 & 17 Geo. 5]]. c. 51) established the [[Central Electricity Board]] to control the best and most efficient stations and set up a grid, standardise frequencies, supply local authorities and supply rural districts. The Padiham buildings had been roofed, alternators tested, installation begun, boilers erected, a [[weir]] across the River Calder completed, two cooling towers and the coal and ash plant nearly complete. Test were underway by July and on 24 January 1927 the plant was brought into regular use.<ref name="Clarke"/>
An 11,000 volt line had been installed to the power stations at [[Accrington]] and [[Radcliffe Power Station|Radcliffe]]. A further 12,500 kW alternator was ordered and eventually installed by 1929. The two [[British Thomson-Houston]] sets were later rated at 7,500 and 15,625 kW. The turbines were supplied with steam from six 35,000 lb/hr and two 56,000 lb/hr boilers operating at 250 psi and 650 °F.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|editor-last=Garrett|editor-first=Frederick C. |title=Garcke's Manual of Electricity Supply vol. 56|publisher=Electrical Press|year=1959|location=London|pages=A-83, A-130}}</ref> By 1940 Padiham was supplying loads at Padiham (7,600 kW), [[Nelson, Lancashire|Nelson]] and [[Colne]] (20,500 kW) and [[Burnley]] (20,500 kW). Two more 12,500 kW alternators were ordered. 70 million units per year at 20% load factor were being generated<ref name="Clarke"/> and in 1942/3 two more boilers were being installed.
The [[Electricity Act 1947]] [[nationalise]]d the electricity industry and set up the [[British Electricity Authority]] (BEA), which became the [[Central Electricity Authority]] (CEA) in 1955, controlled by the Minister of Fuel and Power. The Authority took over electricity generating function of the Lancashire Electric Power (LEP) Company and promoted efficient generation, transmission and distribution and cheaper prices in rural areas. It also standardised the system and electrical fittings and had 11 divisions and 12 area boards.<ref name="Clarke"/> Padiham power station was vested in the BEA and the LEP's electricity distribution and sales functions were taken over by the [[North Western Electricity Board]] (NWEB). The CEA was in turn dissolved by the [[Electricity Act 1957]] and replaced by the [[Central Electricity Generating Board]] (CEGB) and the [[Electricity Council]].
The generating capacity and output from Padiham A is given in the following table.<ref name=":1"/><ref name="CEGB 1961">CEGB ''Annual report and Accounts'', 1961, 1962 & 1963</ref><ref>Electricity Commission, ''Generation of Electricity in Great Britain year ended 31st December 1946''. London: HMSO, 1947.</ref> {| class="wikitable" |+Padiham A electricity capacity and output !Year !1946 !1954 !1955 !1956 !1957 !1958 !1962 !1963 !1967 |- !Installed capacity, MW | |28 |28 |28 |28 |28 |31.375 |31.375 |31.375 |- !Electricity output, GWh |89.33 |36.877 |34.084 |20.063 |21.887 |14.774 |5.568 |17.150 |17.609 |} Padiham A power station closed in 1969.
===Padiham B=== In 1957 a 240 MW station, Padiham "B", was authorised with the first [[British Thomson-Houston]] unit of 120 MW commissioned in 1962. There were two [[Babcock & Wilcox]] boilers rated at 108 kg/s, steam conditions were 103.42 bar at 538 °C, with reheat to 538 °C.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Handbook of Electricity Supply Statistics 1989|publisher=The Electricity Council|year=1990|isbn=085188122X|location=London|pages=5}}</ref> Padiham B was one of the CEGB’s twenty steam power stations with the highest [[thermal efficiency]]; in 1963–4 the thermal efficiency was 32.36 per cent, 32.91 per cent in 1964–5, and 33.27 per cent in 1965–6.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=CEGB|title=CEGB Statistical Yearbooks 1964, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1982|publisher=CEGB|year=1966|location=London|pages=20}}</ref> The annual electricity output of Padiham B was:<ref name=":0"/><ref>{{Cite book|last=CEGB|title=CEGB Statistical Yearbook 1978-79|publisher=CEGB|year=1979|isbn=0902543598|location=London|pages=8}}</ref><ref name="CEGB 1961"/> {| class="wikitable" |+Electricity output of Padiham B !Year |1960–61 |1961–2 |1962–3 |1963–4 |1964–5 |1965–6 |1966-7 |1971–2 |1978–9 |1981–2 |- !Electricity supplied, GWh |7.546 |15.400 |336.589 |379 |637 |1,147 |915.685 |622 |790.48 |542 |- !Thermal efficiency, % |16.28 |29.64 |30.74 |32.36 |32.91 |33.27 |32.44 |31.09 |31.45 |32.43 |} In 1964 a Padiham "C" was proposed but not built. Padiham "A" closed in 1969. In 1971 some oil firing and [[orimulsion]] was proposed at one stage but it seems only coal and [[Petroleum Coke|petrocoke]] were ever used. By 1984 the station was generating 15 million MW hours.
In 1993 the last load of coal was delivered and Padiham "B" ceased generation on 31 March.<ref name="Pad B">[http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Europe/United_Kingdom/England/Lancashire/Padiham/photo503577.htm Picture of the remains of Padiham B taken in 2006]</ref>
The power station is also notable for being used in a minor capacity during the filming of science fiction comedy series [[Red Dwarf (TV Series)|Red Dwarf]] in the 1990s<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reddwarf.co.uk/guide/index.cfm?seriesID=3§ionID=sets|title=Sets Guide, Series III|website=Red Dwarf - The Official Website|access-date=28 December 2020}}</ref>
==Redevelopment== Although the rail line had closed for passengers connecting [[Padiham railway station]] to Burnley and [[Blackburn]] in 1957, the section to the power station was retained for coal deliveries. Part of it was under consideration by [[Lancashire County Council]] as a rural walk in 2008. The weir constructed to provide cooling water for the plant was also under consideration for partial removal to provide a canoe slalom and aid fish, [[salmon]] and [[trout]], trying to reach the upper part of the river.<ref name="LCC">{{cite web|url=http://www3.lancashire.gov.uk/council/meetings/displayFile.asp?FTYPE=D&FILEID=2058|publisher=Lancashire County Council|title=Proposals to remove weir and install canoe slalem|date=2003}}</ref> The [[Environment Agency]] believes that the quality of the Calder is now of a standard that can support these fish. The project is a joint fish pass and canoe run. Fish movement upstream will open up opportunities for course and game fishing in the rural areas up stream. The works to remove the derelict weir will see the final stage of the reclamation of the former power station and the work is complementary to the county’s developing land reclamation programme.
==See also== {{Portal|England|Energy}} * [[Timeline of the UK electricity supply industry]] * [[List of power stations in England]] * [[List of pre-nationalisation UK electric power companies]] * [[National Grid (UK)]] * [[Huncoat Power Station|Huncoat]] and [[Whitebirk Power Station|Whitebirk]], other stations on the [[Burnley Coalfield]]
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{North West Power Stations}} {{Borough of Burnley culture}} {{Authority control}}
[[Category:Padiham]] [[Category:History of Burnley Borough]] [[Category:1926 establishments in England]] [[Category:1993 disestablishments in England]] [[Category:Coal-fired power stations in England]] [[Category:Power stations in North West England]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in Burnley]]