Liddell Coal-Fired Power Station's Chimneys Demolished, Marking End of 52-Year Operation

The two chimneys of Liddell coal-fired power station have come crashing down, marking the close of a site which provided energy for New South Wales for half a century. In a demolition streamed online on Tuesday, the two 170m stacks of the Hunter Valley power station, owned by energy giant AGL since 2014, came down one after the other following massive detonations of explosives. The power station was officially retired in April 2023 after more than 52 years in operation. At its peak, it supplied electricity to around one million homes a year. The site will become host to the 500 megawatt Liddell battery for energy storage, including from renewable sources. Liddell station’s closure manager, Chris Druery, said the demolition of the smokestacks was “pretty much like felling a tree”. “We basically blow a wedge out of the front of the stack in the direction that we’re trying to fell it in. They cut the back of the stack to remove resistance.” “When the explosion goes off, it blows that wedge out of the front and it basically falls over like a tree does when you fell a tree.” In a statement, the Nature Conservation Council NSW said the demolition showed “the shift to clean energy is working”. The council’s chief executive, Jacqui Mumford, said: “Today’s demolition of the smokestacks at Liddell power station shows we can achieve a transition to reliable cleaner energy, in fact it’s already well underway.” Speaking before the demolition on Tuesday, the NSW premier, Chris Minns, said the power station had “been an incredible source of energy that’s really fired up NSW for many, many years”. “It’s an important change, but I think today is actually quite iconic in relation to what it means in terms of where the transition is up to, and I would take the opportunity to actually thank all the workers who’ve worked at Liddell.” Amid the renewable transition, NSW’s continued use of coal-fired power has come under scrutiny.