Description and History of Site:-
Two power stations occupied the site. Five cooling towers remain on the site which is otherwise largely cleared. To the west is a large national grid switching station. Two coal-fired stations, Willington 'A' built 1954, commissioned 1957, decommissioned 1995, and Willington 'B' built 1959, commissioned 1962, decommissioned 1999. In 1967, the 'Electrical Supply Handbook' reported that the 'A' station had a capacity of 392 MW (four 104 MW English Electric sets with boilers by International Combustion) and the 'B' station with a capacity of 340 MW (two 182 MW Associated Electric Industries sets with Babcock & Wilcox boilers). Pulverised coal was the fuel used by both stations, cooling water was obtained from the River Trent just to the south of the site. Ash was disposed of in old gravel pits to the west of the site, sent via two 16" pipelines.

After decommissioning there were two attempts to develop the site for housing, but both refused planning consent after public inquiries. Subsequently, in 2011, planning consent was given for a new gas fired power station (to be known as Willington 'C') but there were difficulties with obtaining consent for the required high capacity gas main. Permission for the gas main was obtained by 2014 with construction to begin before 2020. However, the proposers (Calon Energy) were reported to have gone into receivership before the works commenced. The future of the site is currently (2021) uncertain.

Further Reading and References:-
Electricity Supply Handbook, Electrical Times, 1967.
Gifford, Alan. 'More Willington Memories'. Published by the author, 2020.
Fowkes, Dudley, Sissons, Mark and Mitchell, Ian. 'A Guide to the Industrial Archaeology of Derbyshire'. 2005, Association for Industrial Archaeology. ISBN 0 9528930 8 8

https://www.willingtonparishcouncil.gov.uk/power-station
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willington_Power_Station
https://her.derbyshire.gov.uk/Monument/MDR14200

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Key Words :- electricity power generating station

Viewing the Site :- from the public highway

Address :- Twyford Road, Willington, Derby, Derbyshire, DE65 6A
Grid Ref :- SK 3085 2874
Co-ordinates :- Lat 52.855276 , Long -1.543295
Local Authority :- South Derbyshire District Council
Pre 1974 County :- Derbyshire
Site Status :- Site demolished or no longer extant
Site Condition :- Site derelict - some buildings remaining
Site Dates :- 1956 - 1999
Record Date :- 26 June 2021

Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © Nick Nelson