Lister Drive power station

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Lister Drive power station
CountryEngland
LocationLiverpool
Coordinates53°25′10″N 02°55′53″W / 53.41944°N 2.93139°W / 53.41944; -2.93139Coordinates: 53°25′10″N 02°55′53″W / 53.41944°N 2.93139°W / 53.41944; -2.93139
StatusDecommissioned and Demolished
Commission date1900
Decommission date1980
Owner(s)Liverpool Corporation
(1900–1948)
British Electricity Authority
(1948–1955)
Central Electricity Authority
(1955–1957)
Central Electricity Generating Board
(1958–1981)
Operator(s)As owner
Thermal power station
Primary fuelCoal, fuel oil
Turbine technologySteam turbines, gas turbines
Chimneys4
Cooling towers5 hyperbolic concrete, plus wooden towers
Cooling sourceCooling towers
Power generation
Units operational2 x 25 MW (1926)
Make and modelMetropolitan-Vickers
Nameplate capacity70 MW (1923), 50 MW (1926), 110 MW (1965)
Annual net output129 GWh (1946)
[edit on Wikidata]

Lister Drive power station was a series of generating stations that supplied electricity to the City of Liverpool and the wider area from 1900 until 1980. They were owned and operated by Liverpool Corporation until the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948. The power station was developed in several phases: designated No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 stations. A gas turbine station was commissioned in March 1965.

Equipment specification[]

Plant in 1923[]

In 1923 the plant comprised:[1]

  • Boilers, producing 1,000,000 lb/h (126 kg/s) of steam supplying:
  • Steam turbine generating sets:
    • 6 × 2,000 kW AC
    • 2 × 3,500 kW AC
    • 2 × 6,000 kW AC
    • 1 × 10,000 kW AC
    • 2 × 12,500 kW AC
    • 2 × 2,000 kW DC

The total output was 66.0 MW AC and 4.0 MW DC.

No. 3 power station[]

The No. 3 Station was constructed in 1926–28 and comprised:[2]

  • Boilers:
    • 2 × 60,000 lb/h (7.6 kg/s) Yarrow, stoker fired
    • 4 × 60,000 lb/h (7.6 kg/s) Babcock and Wilcox, stoker fired
    • 2 × 125,000 lb/h (15.75 kg/s) Babcock and Wilcox, pulverised fuel fired
  • The working pressure of the boilers was 325 psi at 700°F (22.4 bar, 371°C).
  • Turbo-alternators:
  • Cooling towers:
    • 5 × Henshaw cooling towers each with a capacity of 2.615 million gallons per hour (3.302 m3/sec). These were the first ferro-concrete hyperbolic cooling tower in the UK.[3] The Lister Drive towers were 39.6 m high and 30.5 m in diameter at the base.[3][4][5]

Coal was delivered to Lister Drive via sidings from the adjacent Edge Hill and Bootle railway line.[6]

A range of electricity supplies were available (in 1923) to consumers:[1]

  • 3-phase, 50 Hz AC at 230 and 400 Volts.
  • DC 230 and 460 V
  • DC Traction current 500 V

Other Liverpool power stations[]

Lister Drive was the principal power station serving Liverpool. There were other power stations connected to the system supplying electricity to the City.

In 1923 there were five rubbish destructors burning trade and domestic refuse, the steam raised in the destructor furnaces drove steam turbines. There were 7 × 100 kW, 2 × 150 kW, 5 × 200 kW, and 1 × 500 kW machines generating a DC supply. The total generating capacity was 2.5 MW.

Clarence Dock power station was constructed for Liverpool Corporation in 1931 to be an integral part of the local electricity grid system supplying, in conjunction with Lister Drive, electricity throughout Liverpool.

In 1965 two 56 MW fuel oil fired English Electric gas turbines were installed at Lister Drive.[7] Each machine had two power turbines coupled to alternators. The gas turbines were used to meet peak demand.[8]

Operations[]

Operating data 1921–23[]

The operating data for the period 1921–23 is shown in the table:[1]

Lister Drive power station operating data 1921–23
Electricity Use Units Year
1921 1922 1923
Lighting and domestic use MWh 9,796 10,255 13,774
Public lighting use MWh 323 321 600
Traction MWh 29,825 26,413 31,399
Power use MWh 46,033 48,541 66,606
Bulk supply MWh 356 2,658 5,775
Total electricity use MWh 86,333 88,188 118,155
Load and connected load
Maximum load kW 38,317 40,325 52,155
Total connections kW 79,850 85,957 94,763
Load factor Per cent 30.6 30.0 29.4
Financial
Revenue from sales of current £ – 968,012 1,211,537
Surplus of revenue over expenses £ – 364,569 596,050

There was a significant growth of demand and use of electricity in this period.

Under the terms of the Electricity (Supply) Act 1926 (16-17 Geo. 5 c. 51)[9] the Central Electricity Board (CEB) was established in 1926. The CEB identified high efficiency ‘selected’ power stations that would supply electricity most effectively; Lister Drive was designated a selected station. The CEB also constructed the national grid (1927–33) to connect power stations within a region.[10] Lister Drive power station was connected to an electricity grid ring which included Southport, Preston (Ribble), Warrington and Wigan (Westwood); this was one of three electricity rings in the North West.[11] The others were Bolton, Padiham, Rawtenstall and Kearsley power stations ring; and the third was Manchester, Oldham, Tame Valley and Stockport ring.[11]

Operating data 1946[]

Lister Drive power station operating data for 1946 is shown in the table.[12]

Lister Drive power station operating data, 1946
Lister Drive Load factor per cent Max output load MW Electricity supplied GWh Thermal efficiency per cent
No. 1 – 22.370 9.572 –
No. 2 28.7 48.170 119.764 15.65


The British electricity supply industry was nationalised in 1948 under the provisions of the Electricity Act 1947 (10-11 Geo. 6 c. 54).[13] The Liverpool Corporation electricity undertaking was abolished, ownership of Lister Drive power station was vested in the British Electricity Authority, and subsequently the Central Electricity Authority and the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB).[10] At the same time the electricity distribution and sales responsibilities of the Liverpool Corporation electricity undertaking were transferred to the Merseyside and North Wales Electricity Board (MANWEB).

Operating data 1954–79[]

Operating data for the period 1954–79 is shown in the table:[2][14][15][16]

Lister Drive power station operating data, 1954–79
Year Running hours or load factor (per cent) Max output capacity  MW Electricity supplied GWh Thermal efficiency per cent
1954 2906 48 54.093 13.05
1955 2472 48 54.466 14.28
1956 1900 48 28.552 12.76
1957 1738 48 23.430 13.01
1958 2470 48 32.386 12.77
1961 0.8 % 48 3.435 7.57
1962 1.7 % 48 7.133 8.31
1963 4.82% 48 20.252 10.28
1967 (4.2 %) 49 18.223 12.87
Gas turbine station
1967 (6.3 %) 2 × 56 60.998 23.13
1972 9.8 % 2 × 56 94.437 24.13
1979 1.8 % 110 17.600 23.7

The plant was used less intensive over the period 1954–62 as its thermal efficiency decreased and Liverpool used electricity from the national grid.

Closure[]

Lister Drive power station was decommissioned in about 1981.[17] The buildings were subsequently demolished and the area has been redeveloped. The cooling towers were demolished on 8 May 1994.[3] A 275 kV substation is still operational east of the former power station site.[18]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c Electricity Commissioners (1925). Electricity Supply – 1920–23. London: HMSO. pp. 58–61, 296–301.
  2. ^ a b Garrett, Frederick C. (1959). Garcke’s Manual of Electricity Supply vol. 56. London: Electrical Press. pp. A-71, A-126.
  3. ^ a b c "Cooling towers Lister Drive". Engineering Timeline. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  4. ^ "Disused stations: Stanley Junction". Disused Stations. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  5. ^ "Big, bold and steaming / from the archive / issue 1". The modernist. 27 January 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  6. ^ "Ordnance Survey 6-inch map Lancashire CVI.SE (includes: Liverpool.), revised 1938, published 1946". Old Maps online. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  7. ^ Dale, L. C. L., L. B. Knowles, K. Shearer (1 June 1966). "Noise in Gas Turbines of the Jet Engine Type Used in Power Generation". Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Conference Proceedings.
  8. ^ Electricity Council (1979). Handbook of Electricity Supply Statistics 1979. London: Electricity Council. p. 11. ISBN 0851880762.
  9. ^ "Electricity (Supply) Act 1926". legislation.gov.uk. 1926. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  10. ^ a b Electricity Council (1987). Electricity supply in the United Kingdom: a Chronology. London: Electricity Council. pp. 45, 60, 69, 73. ISBN 085188105X.
  11. ^ a b Hannah, Leslie (1979). Electricity before Nationalisation. London: Macmillan. p. 121. ISBN 0333220862.
  12. ^ Electricity Commission (1947). Generation of Electricity in Great Britain year ended 31 December 1946. London: HMSO. p. 11.
  13. ^ "Electricity Act 1947". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  14. ^ CEGB Annual report and Accounts, 1961, 1962 & 1963 London: CEGB
  15. ^ CEGB (1972). CEGB Statistical Yearbook 1972. London: CEGB. p. 17.
  16. ^ CEGB (1979). CEGB Statistical Yearbook 1978-79. London: CEGB. p. 8. ISBN 0902543598.
  17. ^ Lister Drive is included in the CEGB Statistical Yearbook for 1978-79, but not in the Yearbook for 1981-2,
  18. ^ "Open Infrastructure Map". Open Infrastructure Map. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
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