“There was a technical problem that prevented the demolition from being carried out safely and required further checks, so it was decided to postpone the operation until a new date to be announced in due course,” EDP official source told Lusa.
According to the company, in order to proceed with the demolition operation, it would be necessary to prolong the restrictions on car circulation throughout the area surrounding the old Setúbal Thermoelectric Power Plant, with all the inconveniences that this could cause people, so it was decided to postpone the demolition of chimneys.
The demolition operation of the two chimneys, about 200 meters high, under the responsibility of the company Maxam, a specialist in the use of explosives for this type of activities, began to be prepared a year and a half ago and foresees the use of around 150/200 kilograms of explosives in each of the two chimneys.
The dismantling / demolition work on the old thermoelectric plant began in 2016 and the work should be completed by the end of 2020, with the environmental rehabilitation of the plant being expected to begin next year.
While recognizing that it is dependent on soil assessments made after total dismantling, EDP believes that land decontamination work will be completed by the end of 2021.
After these works, EDP intends that the land of the old Setúbal Thermoelectric Power Plant will be able to accommodate a “sustainable project, a project that is part of the energy transition”.
Built in the late 70s of the last century, the Setúbal Thermoelectric Power Station, located on the Mitrena peninsula, was in operation for more than 30 years, from 1978 to 2013, it was equipped with four groups of generators and came to supply 25% of the Portuguese population in continental territory.
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