Q. As Duke/Progress Energy dismantles the old Sutton coal plant, when will the two tall smokestacks be torn down? Will that occur gradually, or by explosives? If explosive demolition, will they have a sightseeing location nearby?
A. Duke Energy expects to demolish the Sutton coal smokestacks in late 2015; however, decommissioning of the retired coal plant must be completed before it takes the down stacks, so this timeframe could shift back based on weather and how long the other steps take.
“There are a number of ways to demolish the smokestacks,” spokesperson Catherine Butler said in an email. “A few options include implosion – using explosives to fully demolish the smokestack; tear down – just as it sounds, tearing down the stack using engineering cables instead of explosives; and, half implosion – taking the smokestack down brick by brick to a halfway point and then imploding the remaining portion.
“Once we determine the demolition method, we will provide more information to the surrounding neighbors and businesses.” Duke has a coal decommissioning webpage where the process can be tracked.
Date posted: January 24, 2014
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