NATURAL gas, solar panels and wind turbines are among the modern ways in which Barrow gets its energy but the town was once an important generator of electricity made in the traditional way – by burning coal.
This came to an end with the press of a button March 1990 when politician Tony Baldry and youngster Marc Evans set off explosive charges to bring down two 300ft chimneys at the Roosecote power station.
The power station opened on June 2 in 1955 on a 110 acre site and with a power generating capacity of 120,000kw. It needed about 2,000 tons of coal a week.
In 1991 Roosecote was given a new lease of life by Lakeland Power in a £120m project to generate electricity with gas as the fuel. It could produce 80 per cent more fuel than the coal-fired plant.
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