A CONTROLLED implosion will bring down the chimney stacks at the Munmorah Power Station, Deltra Electricity announced this week.
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The stacks are expected to be brought down in April next year.
Works to demolish and remove other parts of the decommissioned power station will start this July.
“Liberty Industrial has been appointed to manage the demolition of Munmorah Power Station, which was decommissioned in 2014,” Delta Electricity’s interim chief executive Ray Madden said.
“Liberty Industrial are expected to take possession of the site this month, with staged demolition works expected to start in July.”
The demolition is expected to be completed by September 2018.
The site will be cleared to ground level, meaning that all structures on the site including the power station building, coal plant buildings, overland conveyors, above-ground pipelines and the two chimney stacks will be removed.
“Munmorah Power Station was built in the 1960s and was closed after 45 years of operation in 2012,” Mr Madden said.
“Its ageing infrastructure and cost of operation meant that it was no longer economically viable to compete against newer and more efficient plants.”
Liberty Industrial have developed a staged demolition plan that outlines the order in which the demolition will take place.
“Demolition works are likely to commence with the turbine halls, coal conveyors and coal plant,” Mr Madden said.
“The felling of the chimney stacks is planned for approximately April 2017.”
He said Liberty Industrial had been appointed for their expertise with large industrial demolition projects and their “impeccable safety record”.
Colongra gas-fired power station is located adjacent to the old coal-fired power station, and it will continue to operate.
“Snowy Hydro owns and operates the Colongra Power Station and has a small buffer zone of its own associated with the power station,” Mr Madden said.
“The buffer zone for the Colongra Power Station will be retained.”
Delta Electricity owns all other landholdings associated with the Munmorah Power Station, including buffer zones.
What becomes of the Delta Electricity landholdings after its power station is removed remains to be seen.
“The demolition work being announced today only includes the above-ground structure and the removal of plant and equipment from the underground structures,” Mr Madden said.
“Further work will be required in the coming years before new land uses can be considered.”
Liberty Industrial founder and director, Clinton Dick, said the project was in safe hands.
“We have a proven track record with large industrial demolitions and we understand this type of project extremely well,” Mr Dick said.
The demolition project aims to eliminate risks associated with any deterioration of the station, improve the visual impact of the surrounding environment and maximise the reuse and recycling of materials removed from the site, he said.
Munmorah Power Station was built in the 1960s.
At its peak, its generation capacity was 1400 megawatts. The power station closed in July, 2012, due to its ageing infrastructure and high maintenance costs.
A series of activities to decommission the station to ensure site safety and compliance with environmental licensing was completed in June, 2014.
Colongra Power Station is a 667-megawatt power station, the largest gas-fired power station in NSW.