Inverkip power station

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Inverkip power station
Inverkip power station shown within Scotland
OS grid reference	NS196711
Operator:	ScottishPower
Fuel:	Oil-fired 1,900MW
Commissioned:	1970
Decommissioned:	1988

Inverkip power station is an oil-fired power station in Inverclyde, on the west coast of Scotland. It is actually located closer to Wemyss Bay than Inverkip and dominates the local area with its 778 foot (236m) chimney; the third tallest in the UK.

In common with other power stations in Scotland it lacks cooling towers; instead, sea water is used as a coolant. The station consists of three generating units with a combined rating of 1900MW.

Construction began for the then South of Scotland Electricity Board (SSEB) in 1970 of what was to be Scotland's first oil-fired power station. However, the soaring price of oil as a result of the 1973 oil crisis meant that by the time construction was completed generation was uneconomical. It was therefore never utilised to anything near capacity with 1200MW being mothballed and the remaining capacity being used to satisfy peak demand. A notable exception was during the miners' strike of 1984/5 when low coal supplies prompted operation at capacity. Generation ceased in January 1988.

In construction, provision was made on site for a fourth generating unit (to the north of the existing units), including a fourth stack inside the chimney. One design feature of the power station is the lack of steam driven boiler feed pumps, with units 1 and 2 being provided with three 50% electric boiler feed pumps and unit 3 with two 50% electric feed pumps. The main turbo-generator was manufactured by Parsons, and many of the major components were interchangeable with the turbo-generators at Hunterston B around 13 miles south on the Firth of Clyde, also then owned by the South of Scotland Electricity Board.

This facility is now owned by the privatised ScottishPower utility group and is maintained in a mothballed condition as part of the strategic reserve. While it is not listed by ScottishPower as being available for generation, demolition is scheduled for 2009 and the site will be cleared for housing and small business development.^[1]