Operations
Coal is brought to the power station by rail to the Wilton rail delivery terminal and unloaded at the station using a merry-go-round system. The coal is provided by a small number of opencast mines in Northumberland.
Electricity is generated for the major plants on the Wilton complex at 11 kilovolts (kV) and distributed throughout the complex using one of the largest privately owned distribution systems in the world. This system is connected to the National Grid so that surplus electricity can be distributed using four National Grid owned transformers at 66 kV and 275 kV. On top of this, the station produces around 4,000,000 tonnes of steam per year for the plants on the complex.
In late 2003, plans to install a 40 MW gas turbine at the station were finally fulfilled, after they were put off because of then owner Enron's bankruptcy. The gas turbine installation was completed in 2004, and it replaced an oil-fired boiler at the station, resulting in reduced emissions from the station. However, the station has retained the flexibility to fire oil as a backup to coal and gas.
In October 2003, SembCorp applied to the Environment Agency for permission to burn 110,000 tonnes of cow fat (tallow) from the carcasses of animals slaughtered during the BSE Crisis of 1996. The tallow bought was a large portion of the 200,000 tonne stockpile stored on farms in Merseyside and near London. The tallow was brought to the station by road tanker from Merseyside. At the power station it was stored in a tanker, awaiting burning. Following consultation and a 10,000 tonne trial burn between March and May 2004, permission for the burning of the tallow was granted in August 2004. Following a £55 million boiler overhaul in 2005, the station began co-firing biomass.
Read more about this topic: Wilton Power Stations
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