Today we went on a trip out of London to the Tilbury Power Plant. The plant was an older coal-burning set-up that has recently been outfitted to burn 100% biomass. Biomass largely consists of excess organic material produced by forestry industries that create lumber and paper. Essentially it is branches, leaves and bark unusable by other companies and most of it comes from Canada (huzzah!)
The plant from afar. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures within the plant, so this is all I have of it.
The details of how the plant is run and everything that is involved in creating the electricity are interesting, but instead of blithering on about that all I want to do is say that I was absolutely stunned by the size of everything in this place. There were gargantuan wheels turning to scoop crud out of the coolant water, towering grinders to pulp the fuel and pipes you could drive a bus through. We got to stand in the cavernous interior of a 65m tall furnace, a place that reaches 1500 degrees Centigrade during operation. More impressive perhaps were the turbines themselves; we were able to see one in operation and it is truly amazing. For the UK the turbine turns at around 3000rpm and when we got to see the guts of one it's incredible to think of an axle that large spinning that quickly. I view it as an invaluable experience that has given me new perspective of what large-scale industry is really like.
After touring the plant itself, we met with someone from their environmental department. To show us that the plant has evolved from its crude predecessors and no longer obliterates the ecosystems around it, we were taken on a pond dipping test. We got to grab nets, trays, brushes and spoons and nab whatever critters we could find. It's incredible how many species of animal you can find in a little pond water. Here's just a few of the things we found in about a square meter of area:
Those guys in section 8 are referred to as scorpions (though they aren't, really).
We found over 9 different species of critter! The dead spider in the middle was actually found on the counter inside the building, much to our delight.
This here is a dragonfly in its larval stage. Apparently they can live in this form for up to five years before they change into a dragonfly.
It was oh so much fun. There were a number of interesting beetles as well. Based on an index (supplied by the plant itself, I might add) our findings were that the water and ecosystems around the plant are in very good condition.
It's time for dinner and I enjoy stuffing my face more than I do typing, so that's all for now!
