Duke Energy implodes boilers at retired coal plant in Goldsboro
Duke Energy Progress on Friday imploded three boilers at a retired coal plant in Goldsboro, setting the way for the utility to begin restoring the site as part of a broader move toward cleaner energy sources.
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The implosion at the 63-year-old H.F. Lee Steam Plant is the second at the site. In December, it imploded twin smokestacks.
Restoration of the site involves filling, grading and seeding the land by mid-2015.
Duke Energy's investment in five new combined-cycle and clean coal plants, including the one in Goldsboro, totals $9 billion. Because of the investment, the company was able to retire seven of its 14 coal plants in the state.
The H.F. Lee coal plant began operating in 1951 and has been replaced by a new 920-megawatt natural gas plant on-site that began serving customers in 2012.
"This demolition event is bittersweet, from a historical perspective," said Millie Chalk, Duke Energy's district manager. "It marks the end of a plant that has reliably served the region for more than 60 years, while also symbolizing a 'passing of the torch' to the new natural gas plant. From the environmental perspective, the transition is very positive."
Check out the implosion below:
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