“It’s an awful lot of work for a 10-second event.” That was how Brad Williams, AGL’s site transition general manager, described the demolition of the two chimneys at the Liddell power station in the New South Wales Hunter Valley. The stacks, each 170m tall, came down one after the other on Tuesday, May 26, after explosives were detonated at their bases. The event was streamed online. Safety concerns meant no public viewing.
Liddell supplied New South Wales for more than half a century. AGL has owned it since 2014, and it was retired in April 2023 after more than 52 years of operation. At its peak it powered around one million homes a year. Over its life it generated about 431,000 gigawatt hours, which at consumption rates when it closed would have run the state for 6.5 years.
Felling a chimney like a tree
Williams said the method is much like cutting down a tree. Crews drill about 700 holes in the side of each chimney and pack them with a small amount of explosive. They then cut triangular sections to act as a hinge and slice through the reinforcement at the base and rear. Chris Druery, the closure manager, explained it the same way: “We basically blow a wedge out of the front of the stack in the direction that we’re trying to fell it in.”
Each stack measured 20m across at the base and 10m at the top. Over the past 18 months the site has been cleaned out and disconnected, and Williams said as much as possible was recycled, including about a million litres of oil.
Those who worked there
Steve Lanesbury put in 44 years at the station. “The emotions are pretty raw. It’s like someone with a terminal illness,” he said. “We put her on life support back in 2023 … and the stacks coming down, that’s the signal that this is the end.”
Williams called it “a bittersweet moment” for former employees and the surrounding community. Margaret and David Channon met while working at Liddell and later married, and their son Jackson went on to work there too.
Paul Ebert, director of the Newcastle Institute for Energy and Resources, said Liddell is the first large thermal power station to reach demolition. “We’re going to see more of this,” he said. NSW Premier Chris Minns thanked the workers before the blast, and Nature Conservation Council NSW chief executive Jacqui Mumford said it showed the shift to cleaner energy is already well underway.
What comes next
A 500-megawatt, 2-hour battery on the site has been built and is being commissioned. AGL plans a Hunter Energy Hub around it. Williams said proposals on the table include solar panel manufacturing and recycling and a data hub, and that talks are under way with several proponents. He cited road access, water access and industrial land as the site’s strengths.
The neighbouring Bayswater Power Station, also owned by AGL, is due to close in 2033. Not everyone sees the transition as settled: a state parliamentary inquiry heard on Monday that the Minns government’s coal industry statement conflicts with advice from the NSW Net Zero commission, and the government has approved at least eight coal mine expansions and extensions since the 2023 election.
Sources
- Liddell power station’s famous chimney stacks crumble into history in massive blast
- 170m chimneys come crashing down as power station demolition begins
