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The Lithgow community can now get an up-close view of the demolition of the decommissioned Wallerawang power station through a short video available from today showing the removal of the unit 7 cooling tower.
EnergyAustralia, owner of the Wallerawang site, took the footage as part of a longer running film project aimed at capturing the history and heritage of the power station and the people who worked there. The complete film will be published in July.
“We appreciate the community’s great and ongoing support for the Mt Piper and Wallerawang power stations and the interest people have in our operations,” said Mark Collette, EnergyAustralia Executive – Energy.
“For over five decades Wallerawang was central to the region’s economy and its community. We wanted to somehow preserve the contribution the plant and its people made to the region, so future generations can understand not only Lithgow’s past but its future.”
Once located near the corner of Main Street and Castlereagh Highway, the 1,150 tonne unit 7A and 7B cooling towers stood at 18 metres tall, 21 metres wide and 117 metres long. The towers had formed part of the site’s infrastructure since the unit was commissioned in 1976.
The clip released today features an excavator bringing down one of the unit’s cooling towers, a structure made up of tallowwood timber, fibreglass, steel and plastic. The work takes just 30 seconds on film but in reality was done over 1,686 hours and 85 truck movements.
The removal involved mechanical demolition, the safest and most environmentally sound approach to the job.
Due to age and poor condition, materials from the unit 7 cooling towers were removed rather than salvaged for use elsewhere. The demolition was the first visible site activity since the Wallerawang power station closure was announced in November 2014.
EnergyAustralia thanks the local community for its patience throughout the demolition work. Impacts may have included mild noise, dust and changed traffic conditions.
Anyone interested in receiving updates on Mt Piper and the rehabilitation works at the Wallerawang power station can subscribe online at energyaustralia.com.au/wangnews