Nova Scotia Power Dismantling 50-year-old Power Stack

Aug 28, 2019

The view of Nova Scotia Power’s Point Tupper Generating Station is about to change, as the company today begins the process of dismantling a 50-year-old, 91-metre tall stack.

 And it will come down much the way it was constructed — one section at a time.

 “It’s a fairly slow process, starting at the top, as we remove the stack layer by layer,” said Steve Kyle, Plant Manager at the Point Tupper Generating Station. “But the end result will be a dramatic one. It will change the landscape, that’s for sure.”

Hamon Custodis Cottrell Canada, specialists in power stack removal, will conduct the work which is expected to take up to three months to complete. Scaffolding will be attached to the stack, made of reinforced concrete, and workers will lower the debris through the stack chimney as it’s removed. All debris will be disposed according to government regulations. Explosives will not be used, and noise and dust are expected to be minimal.

“We have a very experienced contractor who is very aligned with Nova Scotia Power’s ‘safety-first’ approach,” said Kyle.

The power stack has been out of service since Point Tupper’s Unit #1 generator was decommissioned in 1987. The dismantling process is a two-phased project; in 2018, the inner lining of the power stack was removed.

A second, 101-metre power stack remains in service, serving Unit #2. The Point Tupper Generating Station produces 154 megawatts of electricity.

The Point Tupper plant began operations in 1969 when the site was selected by government to supply steam for the processes of an adjacent facility that was built to produce heavy water for the nuclear power industry. Unit #2, which was added in 1976, originally ran on imported oil and was converted in 1987 to use coal that was mined locally at the time. Once that conversion was complete, Unit #1 was decommissioned.

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