Fulham Power Station facts for kids

The Fulham Power Station was a huge power station in London, England. It sat right on the north bank of the River Thames in an area called Fulham.

This power station used coal to create electricity for homes and businesses. It had two main parts: Station A, which started in 1901, and Station B, which opened later in 1936. Both stations stopped working in 1978.

History of Fulham Power Station

How Fulham A Started and Grew

The first part of the power station, called Fulham A, began operating in May 1901. It was built and run by the local government, the Fulham Borough Council.

As more people needed electricity, the power station added new machines to make more power. The table below shows how much electricity it could make and how much it actually sold over the years.

Building Fulham B: A Bigger Station

A second, much larger power station, called Fulham B, opened in 1936. It was built on a big piece of land, about 124 acres (50 ha), right next to the river.

Fulham B was designed to be very powerful, able to produce at least 310 megawatts (MW) of electricity. This made it the largest power station owned by a city in the UK at the time!

It had six large machines called turbo-alternators, each able to make 60 MW of power. It also had many huge boilers that created steam to power these machines.

Fulham B was also one of the first power stations to try and clean its smoke. It had special equipment to remove harmful sulfur compounds from the flue gases before they went into the air. This was a big step for cleaner air back then.

Coal Ships and War Damage

The 'B' station had its own special dock for coal ships. These ships, called colliers, brought coal directly to the power station from different parts of the country.

The power station even had its own fleet of ships! The first three were named SS Fulham, Fulham II, and Fulham III, launched between 1935 and 1937. Later, Fulham IV and Fulham V joined them.

During World War II, the power station and its ships became targets. In September 1940, a German air raid damaged the power station. Some of the coal ships were also attacked. For example, Fulham V was sunk by a German E-boat, but thankfully, all 19 crew members were saved.

Another ship, Fulham II, was damaged by a mine in 1941 but was later repaired and returned to service. After the war, in 1946, Fulham VII sank after colliding with another ship.

Newer ships, Fulham VIII and Fulham IX, were launched in 1947 and 1948. These were bigger and more modern. Over the years, many of the older Fulham ships were taken apart for scrap. The last one, Fulham IX, was sold in 1970 and later scrapped in 1978.

Becoming a National Power Station

In 1948, the British government took over all electricity companies in the country. This is called Nationalisation. Fulham Power Station became part of a new national organization called the British Electricity Authority.

This organization changed names a few times, becoming the Central Electricity Authority in 1954 and then the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) in 1957. The CEGB ran Fulham Power Station until it closed.

How Much Electricity Did it Make?

The power station's boilers could produce a huge amount of steam, about 524 kilograms per second! This steam was used to spin the turbines and generate electricity.

Here's a graph showing how much electricity Fulham Power Station produced each year from 1946 to 1978. You can see how the amount of electricity generated changed over time.

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Closing Down and Cleaning Up

The CEGB closed Fulham Power Station in 1978 and sold the land. In the early 1980s, some of the buildings were taken down to make way for new developments. Other parts were turned into a large storage facility.

When the power station was being taken apart, a lot of asbestos was found. Asbestos is a material that can be dangerous if its tiny fibers are breathed in. A special company was hired to remove about 1,000 tonnes of this material safely. It was put into bags and taken to a special disposal site.

People living near the power station were worried about the asbestos. They formed groups to make sure the cleanup was done safely and that everyone knew what was happening.

The closing of Fulham Power Station was discussed in the House of Commons, which is part of the UK Parliament. Members of Parliament (MPs) talked about how the asbestos was being handled.

Labour MP Tom Cox raised concerns about the cleanup. He said that local residents should have been told sooner about the sale and demolition.

Conservative MP Martin Stevens also spoke. He noted that the local council, the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, had to pay to monitor the air for asbestos, even though they weren't in charge of the cleanup.

A government minister, John Gummer, explained that rules were in place to make sure asbestos was handled carefully. He also said that the CEGB promised to remove asbestos from power stations themselves before selling them in the future.

Today, the site where Fulham Power Station once stood is now a modern apartment complex called "Regent on the River." The design of these new buildings even reminds people of the old power station.