ScottishPower is set to demolish a further two steel ‘Precipitator’ structures at Cockenzie Power Station on Tuesday 25th March using controlled explosion. The 300 tonne structures have a height of 34 metres and a width of 10 metres by 12.5 metres.

Decommissioning work at the station has been ongoing since April 2013, following Cockenzie’s closure after 45 years of operation. The full demolition programme at Cockenzie is set to run until mid-2015. The removal of the steel structures will again be managed by ScottishPower’s contractor Brown and Mason, and the controlled explosive demolition is set to take place at 2pm.

ScottishPower continues to work closely with East Lothian Council and Police Scotland and as with previous activity; no road closures will be required during the demolition. The structures are located on the seaward side of the main building and an exclusion zone will be required immediately before and after the event. This will entail the short term closure of the section of the John Muir Way that runs parallel to the sea wall.

George Camps, Project Manager at ScottishPower said: “We are pleased with the progress of our decommissioning work at Cockenzie so far and this third controlled explosive demolition will be very similar to previous works carried out in December and February.

“We have been working very closely with the local authority and the police to ensure that the event is planned safely. The remaining 10 precipitator structures will also be removed by controlled explosive demolition, and we will look to plan these further events in the coming months.

“As previously stated, we do not expect the chimney stacks to be removed before Winter this year.”

As with previous demolition activity, next week’s event is not expected to be a viewing spectacle, but Police Scotland and East Lothian Council have advised that any members of the public wishing to view the demolition should congregate on the Greenhills. There will be no official car parking.

Cockenzie Power Station generated more than 150 Terawatt Hours (TWh) of electricity in its lifetime, enough to power the average annual electricity needs of more than 1 million homes every year during its 45 years of operation.  When opened in 1967, Cockenzie was the largest power station in Scotland and Britain.
 

ScottishPower Press Office: 0141 614 4660