Background
Following the Second World War the demand for electricity increased in the United Kingdom. In North East England, this led to the construction of two new power stations at Stella, along with the expansion of stations at Dunston and Billingham, to meet the demand for power quickly. At Blyth, a larger and more efficient plant was planned, consisting of six 100 megawatts (MW) generating units. This increased to six 120 MW units, before increasing again in the final proposal for an A station consisting of four 120 MW units and a B station consisting of two 275 MW units and two 350 MW units. This gave the A and B stations generating capacities of 480 MW and 1,250 MW respectively. The Blyth Power Stations were to be an experiment, using a variety of generating set sizes at a time when engineers were trying to standardise power station plant and layout. Blyth was the first in the UK to use generating sets larger than the then standard 30 MW and 60 MW. The station's location was chosen because of its position within the super grid, rather than to be near a load centre.
The site chosen for the construction of the power stations was close to the coal mining town of Cambois. Ordnance Survey maps as far back as 1860 show that before building work began the land had been used as open farmland, with fields of varying shapes and sizes.
Read more about this topic: Blyth Power Station, History
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