Cockenzie power station

Cockenzie power station
Cockenzie Power Station (after clearance) from the air
Map
CountryScotland
LocationCockenzie
Coordinates55°58′06″N 2°58′18″W / 55.96833°N 2.97167°W / 55.96833; -2.97167
StatusDemolished
Construction began1959[1]
Commission date1967[2]
Decommission date15 March 2013
OperatorsSouth of Scotland Electricity Board
(1967–1991)
Scottish Power
(1991–2013)
Thermal power station
Primary fuelCoal
Power generation
Nameplate capacity1,200 MW
External links
CommonsRelated media on Commons
[edit on Wikidata]

grid reference NT394754

Cockenzie power station was a coal-fired power station in East Lothian, Scotland. It was situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, near the town of Cockenzie and Port Seton, 8 mi (13 km) east of the Scottish capital of Edinburgh.[3] The station dominated the local coastline with its distinctive twin chimneys from 1967 until the chimneys' demolition in September 2015. Initially operated by the nationalised South of Scotland Electricity Board, it was operated by Scottish Power following the privatisation of the industry in 1991. In 2005 a WWF report named Cockenzie as the UK's least carbon-efficient power station, in terms of carbon dioxide released per unit of energy generated.[4]

The 1,200 megawatt power station ceased generating energy on 15 March 2013 around 8.30am.[5][6] There are plans to replace the station with a combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power station. The removal of the power station was done in stages with the twin chimneys and turbine hall being demolished in a controlled explosion on 26 September 2015, the front section of the boiler house on 4 November 2015 and the rest of the boiler house on 17 December 2015. This was the last remaining major structure to be removed.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference centre was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Demolition was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Cockenzie Power Station" (PDF). Scottish Power. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  4. ^ Stevens, Charlie (13 July 2005). "Hazelwood tops international list of dirty power stations". WWF. Archived from the original on 13 October 2008. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  5. ^ "Cockenzie Power Station shuts down marking 'end of an era'". 15 March 2013. Archived from the original on 18 March 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  6. ^ "BBC News - Cockenzie coal-fired power plant closes". BBC Online. Retrieved 15 March 2013.