The two stations were built alongside each other on a site near Cambois in Northumberland, on the northern bank of the River Blyth, between its tidal estuary and the North Sea.

RWE Npower proposed the construction of a clean coal-fired power station on the site,[4] but the plans were postponed.

At Blyth, a larger and more efficient plant was planned, consisting of six 100 megawatts (MW) generating units.

[11] The site chosen for the construction of the power stations was close to the coal mining town of Cambois.

Ordnance Survey maps as far back as 1860 show that before building work began the land had been used as open farmland, with fields of varying shapes and sizes.

[7] The ground to the south of this road consisted of a 21-metre (69 ft) thick layer of boulder clay, overlaying sandstone and coal.

[14] The prominence and large scale of the buildings in the surrounding flat rural area, was the subject of much contemporary architectural debate.

The stations' condensers were of twin two-pass design and had a total cooling surface of 70,000 square feet (6,500 m2).

The cooled waste water was discharged into the sea off Cambois beach below low tide level.

From then on FBA was sold to the construction industry, while PFA was either dried for sale, or was disposed of at a licensed landfill on-site.

[12] With the privatisation of the UK's electricity supply industry in 1990, the station passed into the ownership of National Power.

[23][24][25] From 1 April 2000 onwards the station was taken out of service for the summer months, because of the low demand for electricity at that time of year.

[28] The length of time that the station was in use is partly due to its value in the National Grid, as a "charge" near to a major node in the system.

[1] Shortly after its closure, a joint proposal was made by the British Army and the Ministry of Agriculture to burn the carcasses of animals slaughtered during the 2001 foot-and-mouth crisis in portable incinerators at the station.

This involved the removal of hazardous materials and contaminants, to keep in line with Health & Safety at Work regulations.

One worker was killed during the demolition work, in May 2001, crushed underneath an electrical connection box which fell from a wall.

The site of the main station buildings is currently covered in crushed concrete, left over from the demolition process.

The coal storage area to the north has been tarmaced and ash settling ponds have been filled with concrete.

[40] In May 2007, Npower announced plans to build a new £2 billion clean coal power station on the site.

The station would also have been able to allow the installation of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology, if it becomes technically and commercially viable.

All of the station's pulverised fuel ash (PFA) may have been sold to the construction industry, transported to which in dry dust tankers.

[43] Residents living in the area voiced opinions that the land should be redeveloped for other purposes, rather than continue to be used as an industrial site.

[44] Ronnie Campbell, the MP for Blyth Valley, claimed he would welcome the development as long as it did not have an adverse effect on the overall regeneration of the area.

[45] On 5 June 2008, Npower reopened the original gatehouse at the entrance to the power station's site, to provide a "drop-in" centre for the public to find out more about the proposed plans.

[5] Malcolm Reid of People Against New Coal Stations, a group opposed to the power station development, said: "We would now like to see Northumberland County Council re-designate the Cambois site for green, clean technology, to match what is happening at the New and Renewable Energy Centre (NaREC) in Blyth.

"[5]In April 2010, Malcolm Reid proposed the station's site as a possible location for a £80 million Siemens wind turbine factory.

[6] In July 2021, plans for the £2.6bn gigafactory employing 3,000 people were approved, with the new Britishvolt plant to be located on former coalyards adjacent to the former power station in Cambois.

[49] Britishvolt appointed ISG as its construction partner who began work on clearing the site in late 2021.

In 1995, the site was considered for scheduling by English Heritage, because of its national importance as a good example of a late 20th-century power station.

However, by then the station's buildings were in poor condition and it would have been financially difficult to ensure their long term preservation.