Big Rivers Coleman Station stacks imploded
Complete Demolition Services of Louisville felled the four stacks at Big Rivers Kenneth C. Coleman Station Wednesday morning. The site is being cleared by the Louisville demolition company following the plant’s idling in 2014. Once the site is cleared, it will be marketed as a prime industrial development site. Coleman Station came online in 1969 to power the NSA aluminum smelting operation.
Big Rivers Electric Corporation and Complete Demolition Services of Louisville continue to make progress in razing the shuttered coal-fired electric generation plant at Coleman Station near Hawesville, as the four stacks at the station were imploded Wednesday morning.
The plant was idled in 2014 following the loss of Century Aluminum, which was the station’s largest customer. The first coal-fired unit at the plant opened in 1969. At the time of its idling, Coleman was running three coal-fired units.
About 16 employees of CDS have been working at the site for about a year, completing minor demolition work and abatement hazards, according to Jon Davies, president of the demolition firm.
“There has been a lot of activity at the plant since the contract started in March,” Davies said in a previous interview. “We are salvaging what is resalable, and removing hazards such as oils and asbestos. Most people see the two to three seconds of implosion, but what they don’t see is the months it takes to prepare the structure for demolition.”
Leslye Krampe, manager of economic development for Big Rivers, said once demolition and remediation is complete at the Coleman Station campus, the 730-acre site will be a prime economic development site.
She said the utility provider is working with the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet to assure all environmental remediation work is completed in a responsible manner and in accordance with state regulations.
The site offers a river port, with loading and unloading facilities.
Serviceable equipment at the plant will be used at Big Rivers’ DB Wilson Station in Centertown in Ohio County.
Once the site is cleared, it is certain to generate interest from Kentucky economic development officials responsible for recruiting industry to the Commonwealth. Companies interested in investing in Kentucky are often looking for large acreage properties with infrastructure and transportation access.
The Glendale Megasite – a 1,500-acre tract along Interstate 65 in Hardin County – is currently the largest site highlighted by the Kentucky Economic Development Cabinet. The site recently secured commitment from Ford Motor Company for a 1,500-acre battery manufacturing campus at the site – with two factories – with production to begin in 2025. The project is expected to create 5,000 jobs.
There are currently 13 sites across the state listed by the economic cabinet with at least 500 acres, and maximum 700 acres. The Coleman Station property is currently listed at 589.9 acres available, which is the undeveloped portion of the entire campus. Eight of the properties are in the west Kentucky region, including three in Muhlenberg County and one in Ohio County.
The Coleman Station property is one of three with Ohio River access.
