Power plant cooling towers demolished

The sister company of regeneration specialist St Francis Group, DSM carried out the controlled implosion of the 90 m tall cooling towers at the former coal-fired plant last Sunday (10 October, 2021) at 9.01am.

The massive structures were the last of eight cooling towers to be taken down at the 125-acre site, which is being redeveloped into 111,480 sq m (1.2 million sq ft) industrial park by a joint venture between St Francis Group and Marshall Commercial Development Projects. 

DSM project manager, James Fincham, said: “Eighteen months of planning and work on site to achieve what has been accomplished today is a testament to the demolition team on site and all involved with the project.”

One of the main challenges of the project was said to be the close proximity of power infrastructure.

According to DSM, the towers were situated just 60 m (196 ft) away from a National Grid sub-station open switch gear and overhead lines. This meant that a close working relationship with the National Grid and energy firm Northern Gas Networks was essential throughout the planning process.

It said: “The position of the towers meant that this was a challenging aspect of the job and meticulous planning and protective measures were required to ensure that our works did not impact on their continuing operations.”

The implosion was carried out with a 350 m (1,148 ft) diameter exclusion zone in place to safeguard the public and third parties. More than 50 DSM employees were assisted by officers from North Yorkshire Police to close local roads.

The onsite teams also used surveillance equipment, such as heat-seeking drones, to make sure the site and surrounding area was completely clear before the blow down.

According to DSM, the same stringent safety precautions were also used for the blow down of the first four cooling towers, which took place less than three months ago on 1 August, 2021.

Simon Dale, director of Ooerations at St Francis Group, said: “On behalf of St Francis Group and Marshall CDP, I would like to thank the DSM team for their successful and safe implementation of our second explosive event at the former Eggborough Power Station plant.

“The team have worked diligently over the past few months to ensure the event was planned, co-ordinated and implemented safely.

“The removal of all eight cooling towers is a significant milestone for the development, and we look forward to working further with DSM and others to regenerate this site and create economic development for the region.”