Neptune Bank Power Station

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the use of electricity for general purposes began to be considered, and the Newcastle upon Tyne Electric Supply Company (NESCo) realised the potential it offered for development. The station was officially opened on 18 June 1901 by Lord Kelvin. At the opening he said: <blockquote>We have seen at work what many have not seen before – a system realised in which a central station generates power by steam engines and delivers electricity to consumers at distances varying, I think, from a quarter of a mile to over three and a half miles... A larger station is in prospect, larger work is contemplated. This admirable but comparatively small station at…

The station was the first major design project of Charles Merz, of the Merz & McLellan consulting partnership, and the first power station Merz & McLellan designed in the Newcastle area. The station's buildings were built from corrugated iron, and the boiler house adjoined the engine room on its south facing side. Each of these two buildings measured by . To the north east of the main station buildings lay the station's cooling pond, where the station's circulating water was cooled by means of spray nozzles, capable of cooling 4,000,000 pounds of water per hour. This cooling system was adopted as it was cheaper than pumping water up from the nearby River Tyne which was below the level of…