Overview of Cockenzie Power Station

Cockenzie Power Station dominates the combined towns of Cockenzie and Port Seton, on the shores of the Firth of Forth, a half-mile (1 km) northeast of Prestonpans and 8 miles (13 km) east of Edinburgh. The station is operated by Scottish Power, a privatised utility which now forms part of a multi-national energy group. This 1200-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power station, which comprises four separate generating units, has been operational since 1967. Designed by Edinburgh architects Robert Matthew and Johnson-Marshall, construction began in 1959 on the site of the former Prestonlinks Colliery, which closed in 1964. It was opened by William Ross MP, the Secretary of State for Scotland, on the 24th May 1968.

Originally coal was obtained directly from the deep mines of the neighbouring Lothian coalfield, but subsequently coal has been conveyed by rail from open cast mines in the Lothians, Fife, Ayrshire and Lanarkshire. Ash remaining after combustion is mixed with water and piped to large lagoons on the seaward side of the Race Course at Musselburgh where it is deposited.