Report - Longannet Power Station, Fife - 2017.

[Ojay]

Longannet Power Station, 2017.

Longannet was a 2400 MW coal-fired power station, located on the North bank of the Firth of Forth.

Construction of Longannet power station began in the mid-1960s, it began generating electricity in 1970, with a design lifetime of 30 years, and was in full operation by 1973.

Initially operated by the South of Scotland Electricity Board, but following privatisation in 1990 ownership was handed over to Scottish Power.

At the time, it was Europe's biggest coal-fired power station.

The station consumed up to 4,500,000 tonnes of coal each year, which was originally supplied directly by conveyor belt from the neighboring Longannet Colliery, until it closed in 2002 after a flood.

Following the closure of Longannet Colliery in March 2002, after millions of gallons of water flooded into the underground workings, coal needed to be delivered by rail.

Longannet was now supplied with fuel via the Scottish Rail Network and the Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine rail link, at the mouth of the river Forth which was re-opened in 2008, which was also used to deliver coal.

Longannet station used four English Electric turbine sets, arranged in two lines with a cross-compound arrangement, driving 8 x 300 MW G.E.C turbo generators.

The station typically burned 4.5 million tonnes of coal a year, producing 4,350 tonnes of ash per day. The station's boilers burned 250 tonnes of coal per hour at full load and produced 1,800 tonnes of steam per hour, at a temperature of 568 degrees Celsius.

In the late 1980s the station's units were fitted with sulphur trioxide (SO3) conditioning equipment to lower the fly ash's electrical resistivity. This was to ensure the station maintained allowable particulate emissions.

Between 1989 and 1994 the station's electrostatic precipitators were given a major refurbishment.

Further to this, in 1994 the station was awarded funding from the European Commission. With this money, Unit 2 at the station was retrofitted with gas-reburn equipment. This was the largest scale application of this technology in the world.

The process of natural gas is injected into the boiler. This cut NOx emissions from Unit 2 by 50%, as well as giving a reduction in CO2 and SO2 emissions.

In 1996, all the station's boilers were fitted with Low NOx burners. This reduced the station's NOx emissions by 40%.

The plant opted in to the UK Transitional National Plan, placing limits on its sulphur dioxide, nitrous oxides and particulates emissions, meaning it could have generated beyond 2020.

A statement by owners, Scottish Power earlier in 2016 to close the station claimed “It was uneconomic to continue” because of the high transmission charges and carbon taxes.

On 24th March 2016 Longannet power station ceases production of electricity to the National Grid, the closure resulted in the loss of 230 jobs.

At the time of closure it was the second largest in the UK after Drax, and the 21st most polluting.

Decommissioning followed soon after with the site expected to be fully cleared by way of controlled demolition by 2021.

Another instalment from a back catalogue of since demolished Power Stations; about time I sifted some photatoes out from this one.

I actually enjoyed many aspects of this station despite it having more a modern feel since being upgraded/refurbished numerous times over the past couple of decades.

The control room had also been heavily modernised, thankfully some of the original equipment (Unit 4) remained..


According to Andy, there's a million miles of conveyor here, impressive setup

Boiler House
Meh, Bit of a dullard

Comprised of four boilers manufactured by Foster Wheeler John Brown

Each boiler provided around 1800 tonnes per hour of steam at a pressure of 168 bars and a temperature of 568°C to the turbo-generator sets.

Forster Wheeler, John Brown Ltd makers plate, shame it didn't fit in Andy's car

Forced Draught Fans

Pulverised Fuel Mills

The pulverised fuel mill consisted of air-swept table/roller pulverisers (8 fuel bunkers per unit) manufactured by P. H. I. Engineering ltd, each capable of processing 40 tonnes of coal per hour!

Ash Hoppers

Turbines made of Lego ♥

Yeah about them..

Four English Electric turbine sets were each arranged in two lines with a cross-compound arrangement, driving 8 x 300 MW GEC turbo generators

@Exploring with Andy admiring this fine beast

Decommissioning underway; here the exciters in the process of being stripped

Each unit utilised 1 x English Electric boiler feed pump and 2 x AEI feed pump turbines

Up Close

Unit 1 High Pressure Turbine

Moar..

Last but not least, the
Control Room

Pretty sure our man had just gone on his rounds, he'd not long since left his moniker in the log book

- Nice set of Roy's

Inside

The CC had long been refurbished, thankfully Unit 4 retained its original analog control panels

Engineering Worksations Between Units 1 to 3

Station Services Control Panel

Nothing like a Yuletide backlog

Shouts to @Exploring with Andy @The Amateur Wanderer @Raz for another memorable excursion

Merry Crimbo

​

 

[tarkovsky]

That is a beauty. Merry Christmas.

 

[Wevsky]

Very nice too mate, now go eat snacks and have a Kronenbourg or 10

 

[mockney reject]

Nice!

 

[xplorer.x]

Modernized indeed but still a gooden! Great stuff.

 

[Exploring with Andy]

As timely as ever
Cracking report though, worth the wait.

 

[Bugsuperstar]

Very nice that mate! Lovely shots!

 

[The Amateur Wanderer]

Made a cracking night mate, Merry Christmas!

Drive home was interesting full car asleep with me fighting through blizzards all the way from Scotland to TAW's Yorkshire derp depot

 

[Ojay]

@The Amateur Wanderer it was bloody freezing from the outset, huddled together in those woods waiting for that right moment to bolt across that absolute bait no mans land just as the secca had bombed it out of view.

 

[The Amateur Wanderer]

Yeah can remember the woods, absolutely baltic haha, seem to remember something with that gate in the way out too? Think one of us just missed secca on top of it or something along those lines?

 

[Camera Shy]

Proper slog that coal conveyor!
Nice one bud.

 

[Calamity Jane]

Turbines are rather nice, bit different with their colours. Also what a fab control room. looks like the star ship enterprise lol. Fab explore. Merry Christmas all. Have a relaxing boxing day

 

[host]

Knock out report gutted I missed this one.

 

[WhoDerpsWins]

Damn, what a beauty!

 

[The_Raw]

Gutted I never made it for this one. <3 them Lego turbines