Portobello Power Station
Former coal-fired power station
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Portobello Power Station was a coal-fired power station in Portobello, Edinburgh which was built in 1923 by the Edinburgh Corporation in order to cope with the increasing demand for electricity in the city.[1]
| Portobello Power Station | |
|---|---|
The original gate of Portobello Power Station | |
 | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Location | Portobello, Edinburgh |
| Coordinates | 55.9562°N 3.1199°W |
| Status | Decommissioned and demolished |
| Commission date | 1923 |
| Decommission date | 1977 |
| Thermal power station | |
| Primary fuel | Coal |
| External links | |
| Commons | Related media on Commons |
History
Although originally intended to be built in 1913, its construction was delayed because of the First World War, and it was formally opened by King George V 10 years later in July 1923.[2][3] Its electricity was used to power Edinburgh and the surrounding region while waste heat warmed the water of Portobello Open Air Pool.[1] At that time the turbine room contained three 12,500 kW turbines fed by six tri-drum water-tube boilers with integral superheaters and superposed economisers, each designed for a maximum continuous capacity of 80,000 lb. of steam per hour. In 1925 the plant was supplemented by a further 12,500 kW turbine. In 1927 two Brown Boveri 31,250 MW turbines were added. These were accommodated in extensions to the 1923 building and also include eight more boilers.[4]
In 1938 the design of the station was extended by Edinburgh architect Ebenezer James MacRae; its six individual chimneys were replaced with a single 365 feet tall stack,[5] which weighed 10,000 tons, was made up of 710,000 bricks[6] and cost in the region of £118,000 to build.[1][7]
Between 1952 and 1955, the power station achieved the highest thermal efficiency of any station in the UK, with peak output of around 279 megawatts,[8] although an explosion in February 1953 led to a two-hour power blackout across Edinburgh. The explosion, which could be heard a mile away, was caused by sea spray collecting on high-voltage insulators in the main-grid substation.[9]
The power station closed on 31 March 1977[10] and demolished in 1980; a new housing estate was built on the site.[1] During demolition, the chimney had to be taken down brick by brick because of its proximity to nearby houses.[11]
The Portobello coat-of-arms on the power station was rescued during demolition and it was planned to incorporate it into a new sports centre to be built in the area.[12] This never happened and in 2016 the broken coat of arms was located in a City of Edinburgh Council storage facility in the west of Edinburgh.[13]
