Blyth Power Station - Design and Specification

Design and Specification

The large 98-hectare (240-acre) site was separated by Bedlington-Cambois Road, with the stations' main buildings, admin blocks and ash dock to the south of the road, and coal storage area and railway sidings to the north. The ground to the south of this road consisted of a 21-metre (69 ft) thick layer of boulder clay, overlaying sandstone and coal. The main foundations of the buildings were spread out, giving a load of about 2.3 tonnes (2.264 long tons; 2.535 short tons) per square foot.

Each of the stations featured large boiler houses, turbine halls, switch houses, flue gas cleaning plant and a pair of concrete chimneys. Blyth A's chimneys stood at 140 metres (460 ft) and Blyth B's chimneys stood at 170 metres (560 ft), major landmarks on the South East Northumberland skyline. Each chimney weighed approximately 17,000 tonnes (16,730 long tons; 18,740 short tons). The prominence and large scale of the buildings in the surrounding flat rural area, was the subject of much contemporary architectural debate. Blyth A's turbine hall was 120 metres (390 ft) long by 37 metres (121 ft) wide, and 26 metres (85 ft) high. It was built from a reinforced concrete frame, clad with brickwork. It housed four 120 MW Metropolitan-Vickers 3,000 rpm turbo generators, each connected to a Babcock and Wilcox boiler, situated in the boiler house. Each boiler and generator set operated independently, with no connections to other sets. Coal fed into the boilers was pulverised by a Babcock and Wilcox pulveriser, fed by a coal bunker with a capacity of 2,000 tonnes (1,968 long tons; 2,205 short tons). Each pulveriser was capable of pulverising 15 tonnes (14.76 long tons; 16.53 short tons) of coal an hour, sufficient to keep its associated boiler at full output. The boiler house was 110 metres (360 ft) long by 28 metres (92 ft) wide and 48 metres (157 ft) high. It was built from a steel frame with aluminium cladding. The A station's design was an unusual mix of styles; the brick construction of the turbine hall was a style used more often in the 1950s, while the aluminium and glass cladding boiler house was a construction style used more in the 1960s. The A Station housed two control rooms, each of which served two generating sets and contained the controls to operate boilers, turbo generators and auxiliary plant. The A Station's switchgear was provided by A. Reyrolle & Company.

Blyth B's turbine hall was 206 metres (676 ft) long by 51 metres (167 ft) wide and 30 metres (98 ft) high. It housed two 275 MW and two 350 MW English Electric 3,000 rpm turbo generators, each connected to a Clarke Chapman & Co boiler, situated in the boiler house. The boiler house was 206 metres (676 ft) long by 32 metres (105 ft) wide and 52 metres (171 ft) high. The coal fed into the boilers was pulverised by a Babcock and Wilcox pulveriser. Each pulveriser was capable of pulverising 40 tonnes (39.37 long tons; 44.09 short tons) of coal an hour, and two pulverisers fed each boiler. Both the turbine hall and boiler house were built from a steel frame, clad with aluminium and glazing. The roofs of the B Station's buildings were made from a lightweight aluminium decking. The B Station's switchgear was provided by A. Reyrolle & Company and by M&C Switchgear. The volume of Blyth B's main buildings represented 0.76 cubic metres (27 cu ft)/kW of installed capacity, while Blyth A's building volume represented 0.74 cubic metres (26 cu ft)/kW.