Fawley Power Station

Infobox UK power station
static_

static_image_caption=Fawley Power Station
os_grid_reference=SU473021
latitude=50.816696
longitude=-1.328881
country=England
region=South East England
shire_county=Hampshire
operator=RWE npower
fuel=Oil-fired
fuel_capacity=2,000MW

Fawley Power Station is located on the western side of Southampton Water, between the villages of Fawley and Calshot in Hampshire.

Fawley was built by Mitchell Construction [Indictment: Power & Politics in the Construction Industry, David Morrell, Faber & Faber, 1987, ISBN 978-0571149858] for the CEGB and was commissioned in 1971 as a 2,000 megawatt (MW) power station, with four 500 MW generating units, each consisting of a boiler supplying steam to a turbine that powers an associated generator. It is interesting as the cooling pumps were Britain's largest with a flow of 210000 GPM. One was driven by an experimental super-conducting electric motor. Two units have been mothballed since the 1990s, so the station currently produces 1,000 MW of power.

The station, which today is owned and operated by N Power, is oil-fired, powered by heavy fuel oil. A pipeline connects the station to the nearby Fawley oil refinery. It is one of three power stations in the country to be run on oil. Fawley does not operate continuously, but comes on line at high times of demand.

CEGB plans for a coal-fired Fawley B station have not been pursued following privatisation of the industry.

References