Like a tree being felled. This is how the great chimney of the thermal power station of Andorra (Teruel) collapsed this Thursday, which with its 343 meters high was the third tallest structure in Spain to date and one of the most representative icons of the industrial stage of the province Aragonese.
It was a spectacular blast. In total, 265 kilograms of dynamite exploded, placed in a hundred cavities spread along one side of the base of the chimney with the aim of making it fall like a log when cut, as specified days before by those in charge of the disassembly. . At 11:30 a.m. sharp, the structure collapsed to the south side in just a few seconds and hit the ground, reducing some 25,000 tons of dust and debris that will be removed over the next few weeks.
The well-known Turolense coal plant stopped smoking a little over two and a half years ago after almost four decades in progress in the midst of the process of decarbonization of the economy. Its owner, Endesa, began the dismantling work at the beginning of 2021, a project in which more than 100 people are now working, having already carried out around 65% of the work. It is estimated that their work will continue for two more years.
Today’s device was similar to the one deployed nine months ago for the demolition of its three cooling towers. That day, those 107-meter-high masses weighing close to 40,000 tons each collapsed in just six seconds with a controlled and simultaneous detonation in which 275 kilos of explosives were used.
For today’s demolition, a security perimeter monitored by the Civil Guard of up to 800 meters in diameter was established around the blast, which involved cutting nine access points to surrounding roads and paths. The demolition raised great expectations among the residents of the mining town and the surrounding municipalities, and it was even broadcast live by various local media. Even so, Endesa wanted the act to be more discreet and less publicized, without the presence of the numerous authorities and guests who gathered at the site for the demolition last May.
The demolition has not been without controversy. Several neighborhood groups, political forces and institutions have repeatedly requested the protection of the structure as industrial heritage and turn it into a tourist attraction for the territory.
Ingenieros de Aragón criticized the “speed” of the demolition process of all the plant’s facilities, which has transformed “an emblematic industrial infrastructure of great engineering value” into thousands of tons of rubble. For its part, the Teruel Existe platform considers the demolition of the chimney “a new attack against the industrial heritage of Bajo Aragón, the province of Teruel and Aragón”.
In this regard, the general director of Endesa in Aragon, Ignacio Montaner, once again indicated that just adapting the chimney to the new regulations implies an investment of 4 million euros, to which additional investments in security, lighting or maintenance, a cost that neither the company nor any public administration is willing to bear. “No one has wanted to assume that cost or proposed a useful use for the future,” he assured in the vicinity of the demolition.
Today’s collapse marks the end of the day for a thermal power station that until a few years ago was one of the largest electricity production centers in Spain and made Andorra the town with the highest per capita income in all of Aragon. It also definitively buries a sector, that of coal, which in recent years has experienced a rapid decline in the midst of a decarbonization process spurred by climate change.
Regarding the future of the area, hopes are now placed on the millions that the electric company has promised to invest in renewable energies and accompanying socioeconomic projects, with which they hope to generate more employment than the one that the work at the plant led to.
