ScottishPower today (Wednesday April 20th) carried out a controlled explosive demolition of the boiler house structure at Methil Power Station in Fife. The work was carried out as part of the company’s plans to completely remove the former power station’s buildings before returning the site to the land owner, Forth Ports, in 2012.
The project formally began in April 2010, and today’s work means that only the administration building and the 300ft chimney stack remain.
Dylan Hughes, Project Manager at ScottishPower, said: “The work to demolish the boiler house at Methil is an important stage in the process of clearing the site completely, ready for the land to be handed back to Forth Ports when our lease ends in 2012. We opted for a controlled explosive demolition on the grounds of safety. It means that materials can now be cleared from the site at ground level, rather than requiring a demolition team working at height for an extended period of time.
“Today’s demolition followed extensive planning by our contractor Brown and Mason. The steel was weakened in advance and small explosive charges were set at strategic locations on the lower sections of the building’s structure. We also worked closely with the Police to ensure a temporary exclusion zone around the power station site was managed safely.
“Plans are currently being finalised for the removal of the chimney stack, which is expected to take place during the summer.”
Located on the southern side of the mouth of the River Leven, Methil Power Station was a 60 megawatt coal slurry-fired station. It became operational in 1965 and was one of only a few stations in the UK designed to run on ‘waste coal’. The waste coal, also known as ‘washings’, was transported to the station by road and rail from surrounding coalfields. In 2000 Methil stopped electricity generation but was kept as part of ScottishPower’s strategic reserve.
The station is situated on land owned by Forth Ports. ScottishPower’s lease of the land ends in 2012, when it will be returned to Forth Ports who will determine its future use.
Media Information: Paul Ferguson, 0141 566 4515 / 07702 665 924