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Uskmouth Power Station

 

 

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Photograph © Robin Drayton. Reproduced under the Creative Commons Attribution Share-alike license 2.0

Uskmouth Power Station
Uskmouth Power Station (also known as Fifoots Point Power Station) is a coal-fired power station at the mouth of the River Usk in the south-east of Newport, Wales. Two stations have stood on the site since the 1950s; Uskmouth A Power Station was built in the 1950s and demolished in the 1990s, and the current Uskmouth B Power Station was built in the 1960s. Both stations were coal fired.

Uskmouth A
Uskmouth A Power Station was built and opened in the early 1950s, and it operated until the 1980s. The station was demolished in 2002 and there are now plans to build a 800 megawatt (MW) gas-fired power station on its site. It would cost £400 million to build, creating 650 construction jobs. Once completed in 2010, it would create 60 full time jobs.

Uskmouth B
Uskmouth B Power Station (or Uskmouth Power as it is now known) was built in 1959. It has a generating capacity of 363 MW, which is enough to power 360,000 homes, or the surrounding area of Newport. The electricity is provided by three generating sets. It is situated in an essential position for the National Grid, as there are very few power stations situated in the south of Wales. The station was closed in 1995, but in 1998 it was purchased by AES. The station was given a £120 million refurbishment to bring it up to date with legislative requirements. New environmental equipment was installed and it was given a refurbishment which is thought to have extended the station's life by 25 years. The station's generating capacity was also increased to 393 MW. In 2001 the work was completed and the station was reopened. However, only a year later the plant passed into receivership, but had a brief period of operating in the winter between 2003 and 2004. In June 2004 the station was put back into full operation, when it was bought by Welsh Power, who were then known as Carron Energy.

The station is currently one of the cleanest coal-fired power stations in the United Kingdom, and is fitted with Flue Gas Desulphurisation equipment and low NOx burners. It also burns biomass, as well as coal, for its emissions to be considered closer to being carbon neutral. The station does not take water from or dump waste water into the River Usk. It instead uses secondary treated sewage water in its cooling system.

The station employs 90 people. It has been awarded RoSPA Gold Award for Occupational Health and Safety for its efforts to ensure station safety. The station's owners have participated in many local community projects - they donated land to the Newport Wetlands Reserve, and sponsor Welsh swimmer David Davies and the Newport Gwent Dragons.

Uses in culture
In 2006, the station was used as a location for two episodes of Doctor Who. In the episodes "Rise of the Cybermen" and "The Age of Steel", the station was used as the setting for the Cybermen Factory..



 

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