THOUSANDS of people lined the coast today as Cockenzie Power Station’s iconic chimneys were finally brought down…and The Courier had a ringside seat.
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The brilliantly planned demolition saw the towers collapsed into each other to make a glorious display of devastation.
Thousands of people are expected to turn out to watch the demolition of Cockenzie Power Station.
Gordon Murray, partner at Ryder Architecture and professor of architecture and urban design at the University of Strathclyde said that although there were more interesting examples of power station design, it would have been more sustainable to find a new use for the building.
It generated enough electricity to power more than a million homes and is thought to have employed more than 10,000 people over the past 50 years.
The demolition of the Cockenzie coal stacks has been received with mixed emotions.
However environmentalists said the demolition marked a positive step forward in fighting climate change.
Hugh Finlay, ScottishPower generation director, said: “The demolition team have been working towards this day for two years, and it was fantastic to see all of our detailed preparations and calculations culminate in such a dramatic event”.
Two iconic towers at a power station in eastern Scotland came crashing to the ground Saturday. Due to strategic investment and high levels of maintenance, the station comfortably outlived its original estimates of a 25-30 year life cycle.
Scottish Power decommissioned the thermal power station on 15 March 2013 with plans to build a cleaner burning natural gas power station on the the 93-hectare site, but have since decided not to pursue that course.
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Boats gathered to watch in the Firth of Forth.
