Coal-Fired Power Plants in Scotland
Barony
Location: Argyll and Butte
Operator: South of Scotland Electricity Board plc
Configuration: 2 X 30 MW
Operation: 1957 (ret 1983)
Fuel: waste coal
Boiler supplier: ??
T/G supplier: Parsons
Quick facts: Methil and Barony power station were both designed to use coal washings as fuel and when the fuel ran out at Barony Colliery, the station was closed. Only the turbine hall remains today.

Photograph courtesy of Scran
Posted 20 Jun 2009

Cockenzie
Location: East Lothian
Operator: ScottishPower plc
Configuration: 4 X 300 MW
Operation: 1968 (ret 2013)
Fuel: coal
Boiler supplier: Babcock Power Ltd
T/G supplier: GEC
Quick facts: Cockenzie is on the shores of the Firth of Forth 8mi from Edinburgh. Plant construction began in 1959 on the site of the former Preston Links Colliery and South of Scotland Electricity Board (SSEB) started the first unit in 1967 using coals supplied by rail from mines of the neighboring Lothian coalfield. Later, coal was supplied by rail from surface mines in the Lothians, Fife, Ayrshire and Lanarkshire. During 2004, ScottishPower began co-firing biomass at Cockenzie up to about 10% of heat input. On 15 Mar 2013, the plant was stopped at around 8.30am having completed its 20,000 alotted operating hours when it opted out of the EU's Large Combustion Plant Directive in 2008.

Photograph courtesy of ScottishPower
Re-posted 15 Jan 2011

Longannet
Location: Clackmannanshire
Operator: ScottishPower plc
Configuration: 4 X 600 MW
Operation: 1969-1971
Fuel: coal, biomass
Boiler supplier: Foster Wheeler
T/G supplier: GEC
Quick facts: Longannet is the second largest coal-fired power station in the UK. In early 2006, SP announced a £170mn investment Alstom seawater FGD scrubbers for three of the four units at Longannet. The new FGD systems on Units 1&2 were commissioned by lead contractor AMEC in Dec 2010. Commissioing of the Unit-3 system was delayed until 2013 by a fire during construction. New BOFA systems were also installed on all four boilers to reduce Nox emissions. About a third of Longannet's coal is sourced from Scotland with the balance from Colombia and Russia. A small amount of wood pellets and wastewater sludge are co-fired.

Photograph courtesy of ScottishPower
Re-posted 20 Dec 2006

Methil
Location: Fife
Operator: ScottishPower plc
Configuration: 2 X 30 MW
Operation: 1965-1966 (ret)
Fuel: waste coal
Boiler supplier: ??
T/G supplier: GEC
Quick facts: Construction on the £6mn project began in 1962. The original ESPs were replaced by baghouses in 1995. Methil and Barony power station were both designed to use coal washings as fuel. The plant was closed in 2000.

Photograph by Christopher Bell
Posted 26 Jan 2003

Abbreviations

Data: industcards, Platts UDI World Electric Power Plants Data Base

Updated 15-Mar-2013

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