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Richborough Power Station

Richborough Power Station
Richborough power station was a power station close to the mouth of the River Stour near Sandwich, on the east coast of Kent. It operated from 1962 to 1996; the towers were demolished in 2012. It was built on land within the Port of Richborough but being on the northern edge its site lies mostly within the neighbouring parish of Minster, Kent.
The Central Electricity Generating Board started construction of the power station in 1958, with Unit 1 coming online in December 1963, and Unit 2 following in August 1963. It opened as a 342MW coal-fired station, using coal from Kent and other coalfields. It was converted to burn oil in summer 1971 and further converted in 1989 to burn a proprietary oil and water emulsion called Orimulsion, imported from Venezuela through Port Richborough.
The site was also chosen as the site for an experimental 1MW wind turbine, which was at that time the largest ever installed in the UK, with permission given in 1987, and the turbine becoming live in 1989.
After growing concerns over the environmental effects of the Orimulsion fuel in the main power station, court action was taken in two separate actions, with both cases settled out of court. The 360MW station ceased generating in 1996. Following the plant closure, the majority of the equipment was removed during a strip out programme, which also saw the demolition of a number of the buildings, leaving only a few outbuildings, the office block and the landmark cooling towers and chimney standing.
In controlled blasts, the three 97m cooling towers and a single 127m chimney stack were demolished on 11 March 2012. Some locals had campaigned to keep the towers, saying they formed part of the historical landscape and were used as a navigation point by boats wanting to enter the mouth of the river Stour known to have a narrow channel of useful depth.

These pics were taken in the space of 1 minute and show the demolition process, the pics on the top are the first and last.

Made the collage and it removed exif info taken with Panasonic FZ45.

Don't get out so much now but doing archive digging! Best viewed Large

MY THANKS TO ALL WHO VISIT AND COMMENT IT IS APPRECIATED

Eric Desjours, Frans Schols, Fred Fouarge, Phil Sutters and 10 other people have particularly liked this photo


13 comments - The latest ones
 Stephan Fey
Stephan Fey club
Must have been an exciting experience!
16 months ago.
 Ruesterstaude
Ruesterstaude club
Alles, was die Menschen geschafft haben und noch schaffen, ist vergänglich. Der Mensch selbst aber auch – und dann kann die Erde neu anfangen.
Zunächst aber dir noch einen schönen Abend und einen schönen Sonntag!
16 months ago.
 Pearl
Pearl club
Très bon reportage. Bon dimanche.
16 months ago.
 Fred Fouarge
Fred Fouarge club
opgeruimd
16 months ago.
 Annemarie
Annemarie club
beautiful series of images
16 months ago.
 "seise"
"seise"
wow
16 months ago.
 Krisonteme
Krisonteme club
Merci du partage .
16 months ago.
 Helena Ferreira
Helena Ferreira
Splendid images!
16 months ago.
 Phil Sutters
Phil Sutters club
I understand why they had to go, but their absence must be strange to local residents. I know I have missed looking out for the Didcot towers after they went.
www.ipernity.com/doc/philsutters/35984299
15 months ago.
 Ruesterstaude
Ruesterstaude club
Interessante Serie, John! Kommen da jetzt Windräder hin?
14 months ago.
 Frans Schols
Frans Schols club
Schitterende serie en interessante beschrijving.
Frans.
14 months ago.
 Jean Paul Capdeville
Jean Paul Capdeville club
reportage photographique trés intéréssant. Merci de ce texte explicatif.qui montre la complexité de la transition énergétique
14 months ago.
 Eric Desjours
Eric Desjours club
A historic monument, so, just like the moment you so skilfully captured. A precious and astonishing testimony to the fight for the environment at the expense of energy and growth at all costs - even though these energies are now being replaced, let's hope by more renewable ones.
8 months ago.

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