“New for old”: an argosy of power returns to Connah's Quay

Abstract

The amount of natural gas now being used for electricity generation has risen from virtually nil in 1989 to around 16% of the total fuel used in the UK today. In 1996, use of gas at CCGT stations saw a 37% rise in electricity production. Didcot A power station, designed for coal burning, has seen one of its units now burning natural gas and other conversions are already underway. A great fillip to the use of gas turbines for power generation came in 1963, resulting from the cascade tripping of a major part of the south-east network. As a consequence, nearly all power stations today have gas turbines installed to support generation and to provide sufficient auxiliary power for a “black start”, as well as useful peak load capacity. However, this was a safety policy undertaken by the CEGB and the gas turbines installed were not utilised for wholesale electricity production. The 'dash for gas' campaign did not arrive until electricity privatisation came into being after the passing of the Electricity Act of 1989. This article examines the development of natural gas for the new CCGT technology by looking at one interesting case, Connah's Quay. It describes how the technology is replacing what was once the only widely accepted means of electricity generation in Britain, namely coal. The history of the Connah's Quay site is given including demolition of the old power station and construction of the new including its layout and operation.