Holborn_Viaduct_power_station
Holborn Viaduct power station
World's first coal-fired power station
Holborn Viaduct power station, named the Edison Electric Light Station, was the world's first coal-fired power station generating electricity for public use.[1][2] It was built at number 57 Holborn Viaduct in central London, by Thomas Edison's Edison Electric Light Company.
The plant began running on 12 January 1882 ,[3] three years after the invention of the carbon-filament incandescent light bulb. It burnt coal to drive a steam engine which drove a 27-tonne (27-long-ton; 30-short-ton), 125 horsepower (93 kW) generator which produced direct current (DC) at 110 volts.[3]
It initially lit 968 16-candle incandescent lamps to provide street lighting from Holborn Circus to St. Martin's Le Grand, which was later expanded to 3,000 lamps.[4][5] The power station also provided electricity for private residences, which may have included nearby Ely Place.[6] Having run at a significant loss the station closed in September 1886,[4] and the lamps were converted back to gas.[7]
Edison opened a second coal-fired power station in September 1882 in the United States, at Pearl Street Station in New York City.[4]