Greenhill power station supplied electricity to the town of Oldham, England and the surrounding area from 1921 to 1960. It replaced the older Rhodes Bank generating station and was superseded by Chadderton B power station. Greenhill power station was owned and operated by Oldham Corporation until the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948. The power station was built over the period 1921–24 and was decommissioned in 1960.
History In 1890 Oldham Corporation applied for a provisional order under the Electric Lighting Acts to generate and supply electricity to the town. The was granted by the Board of Trade and was confirmed by Parliament through the Electric Lighting Orders Confirmation (No. 3) Act 1890 (54 & 55 Vict. c. clxxxviii). The power station was built in Gas Street at Rhodes Bank (53°32'24"N 2°06'22"W)Ordnance Survey 25-inch England Lancashire XCVIII.6 (Oldham; Royton) published 1922. and first supplied electricity on 20 March 1894.
Following the First World War the demand for electricity was outpacing the available supply. Oldham Corporation built Greenhill power station adjacent to the railway in Churchill Street East (). Greenhill station was first commissioned in 1921 with further generating sets commissioned in 1923 and 1924. In addition Oldham Corporation built another electricity generating station at Slacks Valley known as Chadderton power station which was first commissioned in November 1929.
Equipment specification Rhodes Bank plant 1898 The original plant at Rhodes Bank power station comprised Willans engines and Charlesworth Hall and Siemens dynamos. To maintain supplies at times of peak demand Crompton-Howell and EPS accumulators were provided. Electricity supplies commenced on 20 March 1894. In 1898 the generating capacity was 657 kW and the maximum load was 413 kW. By 1898 of electricity mains had been laid. In 1909 440kW of plant was moved to Greenhill and the station was closed down.
Greenhill plant 1923 This station was opened in 1902 initially with a capacity of 3,700 kW.
In 1923 the generating plant at Greenhill power station comprised:
Coal-fired boilers producing up to 383,500 lb/h (48.3 kg/s) of steam. Coal was delivered to the power station via a dedicated railway siding. Steam was supplied to: Generators: 1 × 2,000 kW steam turbo-alternator 2 × 3,000 kW steam turbo-alternators 2 × 6,000 kW steam turbo-alternators
These machines gave a total output of 20,000 kW of alternating current.
By 1929 capacity had reached 32,000 kW.
A variety of electricity supplies were available to consumers:
3-phase, 50 Hz AC at 400 and 230 Volts Direct current 420 and 210 Volts Direct current Traction supply 500 Volts
Greenhill plant 1954–1958 In 1954 the plant at Greenhill power station comprised:
Boilers: 3 × 25,000 lb/h (3.15 kg/s) Babcock & Wilcox boilers with chain grate stokers 2 × 15,000 lb/h (1.9 kg/s) Babcock & Wilcox boilers with chain grate stokers 4 × 10,000 lb/h (1.26 kg/s) Babcock & Wilcox boilers with chain grate stokers
The boilers had a total evaporative capacity of 145,000 lb/h (18.3 kg/s), steam conditions were 200 psi and 650 °F (13.8 bar, 343 °C), which was supplied to:
Turbo-alternators: 2 × 6.6 MW Metropolitan-Vickers turbo-alternators, generating at 6.6 kV 1 × 4 MW Metropolitan-Vickers turbo-alternator, generating at 6.6 kV
The installed capacity was 17.2 MW with an output capacity of 10 MW.
There were also:
2 × 500 kW GEC motor generators 1 × 1.25 MW Westinghouse rotary convertor 3 × 1.5 MW Westinghouse rotary convertors
Condenser cooling water was cooled in five Premier chimney type cooling towers with a capacity of 1.36 million gallons per hour (1.7 m3/s).
Operations Rhodes Bank operations 1898 In 1898 and there were 213 customers supplied with a total of 305,859 kWh of electricity plus 16,444 kWh for public lighting. The sale of electricity provided revenue of £5,862 for Oldham Corporation against a generating cost of £1,486.
Greenhill operations 1921–23 The operating data for the period 1921–23 was: +Greenhill power station operating data 1921–23Electricity UseUnitsYear192119221923Lighting and domesticMWh2,8793,1623,823Public lightingMWh8390166TractionMWh4,2254,6694,943PowerMWh11,15314,32520,901Total useMWh18,34022,24629,832Load and connected loadMaximum loadkW10,99614,18716,260Total connectionskW16,55519,98521,387Load factorPer cent24.322.025.7FinancialRevenue from sales of current£–166,87529,833Surplus of revenue over expenses£–52,27194,597 Under the terms of the Electricity (Supply) Act 1926 (16 & 17 Geo. 5. c. 51) the Central Electricity Board (CEB) was established in 1926. The CEB identified high efficiency 'selected' power stations that would supply electricity most effectively; Greenhill was designated a selected station. The CEB also constructed the National Grid (1927–33) to connect power stations within a region. Oldham Greenhill became part of one of the three grid rings in Lancashire. This local ring connected Oldham, Manchester, Tame Valley and Stockport.
Greenhill operations 1946 Greenhill power station operating data for 1946 is given below, data for Chadderton power station is shown for comparison: +Greenhill and Chadderton power station operating data, 1946StationLoad factor per centMax output load MWElectricity supplied GWhThermal efficiency per centGreenhill27.821,04023.11912.02Chadderton32.039,95997,91017.14
Nationalisation The British electricity supply industry was nationalised in 1948 under the provisions of the Electricity Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. 6. c. 54). The Oldham electricity undertaking was abolished, ownership of Greenhill power station was vested in the British Electricity Authority, and subsequently the Central Electricity Authority and the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB). At the same time the electricity distribution and sales responsibilities of the Oldham electricity undertaking were transferred to the North Western Electricity Board (NORWEB).
Greenhill operations 1954–58 Operating data for the period 1954–58 was: +Greenhill power station operating data, 1954–58YearRunning hoursMax output capacity MWElectricity supplied GWhThermal efficiency per cent195427291521.81811.19195525941518.56611.13195619771515.87411.528195725331016.42411.074195822951012.32710.809
Oldham electricity supply district The Oldham electricity supply district, covered an area of and included the County Borough of Oldham, the borough of Middleton, and the districts of Chadderton, Crompton, Lees, and Royton. It served a population of 215,800 (1958). The number of consumers and electricity sold was: Year195619571958Number of consumers80,34882,00183,476Electricity sold MWh287,017313,355340,341 In 1958 the number of units sold to categories of consumers was: Type of consumer No. of consumers Electricity sold MWhResidential74,90992,706Shops, offices, etc.4,13923,306Combined premises3,08610,407Factories1,116209,539Farms2201,109Public lighting63,274Total83,476340,341 There were of high voltage mains in the district comprising of underground mains and of overhead cables.
Closure Greenhill power station was decommissioned in 1960.Greenhill power station is not mentioned in CEGB Annual reports 1961-63 The buildings were subsequently demolished although a working substation remains on the site.
See also Timeline of the UK electricity supply industry List of power stations in England Chadderton Power Station
References