Bankside Power Station facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bankside Power Station
Bankside 'B' Power Station, around 1985, before it became the Tate Modern art museum.
Country	England, United Kingdom
Location	Greater London
Coordinates	51°30′27″N 0°05′56″W / 51.507625°N 0.098970°W / 51.507625; -0.098970
Status	Decommissioned
Construction began	1891 (Pioneer Station), 1893 (A Station), 1947 (B Station)
Commission date	1891 (Pioneer Station), 1893 (A Station), 1952 (B Station)
Decommission date	1959 (A Station), 1981 (B Station)
Owner(s)	As operator(s), plus CEGB (1981–1990), Nuclear Electric (1990–1994); Tate Gallery 1994-date
Operator(s)	City of London Electric Lighting Company (1891–1948), British Electricity Authority (1948–1955), Central Electricity Authority (1955–1957), CEGB (1958–1981)

The Bankside Power Station was a building that made electricity. It was located on the south side of the River Thames in London. This power station worked from 1891 until 1981. It was also a place where students learned about electrical and mechanical engineering. Since the year 2000, the building has been home to the famous Tate Modern art museum.

Early Days: The Pioneer Station

The very first Bankside power station was built in 1891. It was owned by the City of London Electric Lighting Company. This company supplied electricity to the City of London and parts of Southwark.

The first electricity was direct current (DC). It powered street lights in Queen Victoria Street starting in June 1891. Then, in December 1891, they began supplying alternating current (AC) for homes and businesses. The electricity cables crossed the River Thames over Southwark Bridge and Blackfriars Bridge.

Bankside A: 1893 to 1959

The power station, later called Bankside A, grew bigger over time. This was because more and more people needed electricity.

In 1893, a large engine room and boiler house were built. They had machines that could generate 2,000 kilowatts (kW) of power. By 1907, the station's power had grown to 25,500 kW.

In 1910, the first large turbo-alternator was installed. This was a big step forward in making electricity. By 1920, there were seven of these machines. The way electricity was generated also changed. It went from single-phase AC to more powerful three-phase AC.

Between 1921 and 1928, a new boiler house was built. Some of its boilers could use oil as fuel, which was new at the time. The old boiler house and its three tall chimneys were then taken down.

How Bankside A Produced Power

Bankside A used large boilers to create steam. This steam then powered big machines called turbo-alternators. These machines turned the steam energy into electricity. The station used coal as its main fuel. It also used a lot of water from the River Thames to cool its equipment.

At its busiest in the 1930s, Bankside A could produce 89 megawatts (MW) of electricity. This was enough to power many homes and businesses.

Problems and Complaints

People often complained about the power station. In the early 1900s, the company was fined for "creating smoke." Neighbors also reported black smoke coming from the chimneys.

In the 1950s, tests showed that a lot of grit and dust was falling in the area around the power station. This was a big pollution problem for the local community.

Changes and Closure

By the late 1930s, Bankside A was becoming old and not very efficient. Plans were made to build a new, more modern power station. However, World War II delayed these plans.

In 1948, the electricity industry in Britain became owned by the government. Bankside A was then managed by the British Electricity Authority. Bankside A stopped making electricity in March 1959. It was then taken down to make space for the new Bankside B station.

Bankside B: 1947 to 1981

Plans for the new Bankside B power station began in 1944. It was designed to be much larger, with a total power capacity of 300 MW. Building a new power station in this area was a big debate. Many people wanted the South Bank of the Thames to be used for offices, homes, and cultural places, not for industry. But in 1947, the British government approved the new power station.

The famous architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott designed Bankside B. He also designed Liverpool Cathedral and the classic red telephone boxes. The building is 155 meters (508 feet) long and 73 meters (240 feet) wide. It has a tall central chimney, 99 meters (325 feet) high. This chimney was designed to be shorter than St Paul's Cathedral, which is across the river.

Bankside B was originally planned to burn coal. But after a coal shortage in 1947, it was changed to run on oil. This made it the first oil-fired power station in Britain. Large underground tanks stored the oil, which arrived by barges on the Thames.

Construction happened in two stages. The western half of the building and the chimney were finished first. They started making power in 1952. Once Bankside A was closed in 1959, the eastern part of Bankside B was built. The whole station was finished in December 1963.

How Bankside B Produced Power

Bankside B used very large boilers to create high-pressure steam. This steam then spun powerful machines called turbo-alternators. These machines generated electricity. The station had different sized generators, including one that could produce 120 MW of power.

The station needed a lot of water from the River Thames for cooling. It used about 10 million gallons of water every hour!

Cleaning the Smoke

Bankside B had a special system to clean the smoke coming from its chimney. This was called a flue-gas washing plant. It washed the gases with river water and chalk. This process removed most of the harmful sulphur compounds from the smoke. It made a white cloud come out of the chimney instead of dark smoke.

However, this cleaning process also cooled the gases. Sometimes, this caused the smoke plume to drop closer to the ground, which could still cause a smell. The dirty water from the cleaning plant was treated before being returned to the river.

Heating Homes

In 1971, there were plans to use the power station's heat to warm nearby buildings. This is called district heating. A special boiler house was built for this purpose. But the plan was stopped because of rising oil prices in the 1970s.

Power Output and Closure

Bankside B was a very powerful station. In some years, it produced over 1,300 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity. This is a huge amount of power!

However, after 1973, the price of oil went up a lot. This made Bankside B very expensive to run compared to power stations that used coal. So, it was used less and less. Some of its generators were shut down in the late 1970s. Finally, Bankside B closed completely on October 31, 1981.

What Happened Next: Redevelopment

After the power station closed, many ideas were suggested for what to do with the building. Some thought it could be a museum, a hotel, or an entertainment center. People also campaigned to save the building from being torn down.

In 1990, the power station was transferred to a company called Nuclear Electric. They cleaned out the old machinery and removed harmful materials like asbestos.

Then, in April 1994, the Tate Gallery announced exciting news: Bankside Power Station would become the new Tate Modern art museum! The conversion work began in 1995 and was finished in January 2000.

Some parts of the original building were kept, like the huge turbine hall. The old oil tanks were turned into a space for performance art, which opened in 2012. A new tower was also added to the museum in 2016.

Bankside on Screen

The Bankside Power Station building has appeared in many films and TV shows. Its industrial look made it a popular backdrop for science fiction series like Red Dwarf. It was also used in the film Judge Dredd and as the Tower of London in the 1995 film Richard III.

After becoming the Tate Modern, the building's exterior has been featured in shows like Ashes to Ashes and movies like Children of Men. In 2018, it was seen prominently in the action film Mission: Impossible – Fallout.

See also

• Battersea Power Station
• City of London Electric Lighting Company