Dunston power station | |
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Official name | Dunston A and B power stations |
Country | England |
Location | Dunston |
Coordinates | 54°57′37″N 1°39′32″W / 54.96028°N 1.65889°W |
Status | Demolished |
Construction began | 1908 (A station) 1930 (B station) 1947 (Gas turbine) |
Commission date | 1910 (A station) 1933-51 (B station) 1955 (Gas turbine) |
Decommission date | 1975-81 |
Owners | Newcastle-upon-Tyne Electric Supply Company (1910–1947) British Electricity Authority (1948–1954) Central Electricity Authority (1954–1957) Central Electricity Generating Board (1957–1981) |
Thermal power station | |
Primary fuel | Coal |
Secondary fuel | Natural gas |
Power generation | |
Units operational | A station: Two 7.2 MW AEG, one 6.25 MW Brown Boveri, one 13.2 MW Brown Boveri and later one 15 MW C. A. Parsons and Company gas turbine B station: Six 50 MW C. A. Parsons and Company |
Nameplate capacity | 1910: 33.85 MW 1951: 333.85 MW 1955: 348.85 MW 1981: 98 MW |
External links | |
Commons | Related media on Commons |
Dunston Power Station refers to a pair of adjacent coal-fired power stations in the North East of England, now demolished. They were built on the south bank of the River Tyne, in the western outskirts of Dunston in Gateshead. The two stations were built on a site which is now occupied by the MetroCentre. The first power station built on the site was known as Dunston A Power Station, and the second, which gradually replaced it between 1933 and 1950, was known as Dunston B Power Station. The A Station was, in its time, one of the largest in the country, and as well as burning coal had early open cycle gas turbine units. The B Station was the first of a new power station design, and stood as a landmark on the Tyne for over 50 years. From the A Station's opening in 1910 until the B Station's demolition in 1986, they collectively operated from the early days of electricity generation in the United Kingdom, through the industry's nationalisation, and until a decade before its privatisation.
Dunston A had a generating capacity of 48.85 megawatts (MW) in 1955, and Dunston B had a generating capacity of 300 MW. Electricity from the stations powered an area covering Northumberland, County Durham, Cumberland, Yorkshire and as far north as Galashiels in Scotland.[1]