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It’s the end of an era as the final three cooling towers at the Ferrybridge ‘C’ Power Station will be demolished on Thursday.

It is the culmination of a three-year project at the former coal-fired power station, which was officially closed by SSE in March 2016 having produced electricity for more than 50 years.

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Keltbray, SSE’s principal contractor, will carry out the blowdown using controlled explosives.

The moment the chimney stacks and boiler house were demolished at Ferrybridge Power Station in August 2021. Picture: Simon Hulme

An exclusion zone approved by the Health and Safety Executive will be put in place. This means there will be no requirement for anyone to leave their properties.

In August 2021, COP26 president and government minister Alok Sharma pressed the button to demolish two chimney stacks and the main boiler house at the site.

The recognisable power station has towered over the towns of Ferrybridge and Knottingley for more than 50 years, and is largely considered a local landmark.

Ferrybridge C, as the site is officially known, opened in 1966. It closed in 2016 and demolition work began in December 2018.

Major demolition work began the following year, with one cooling tower removed in July.

In October 2019, thousands of people gathered to watch the main blowdown, which saw four of the remaining cooling towers crumble to the ground in one spectacular event.

The closure of the station and subsequent demolition works are part of SSE’s transition to a low-carbon energy future, in line with the UK’s target for net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

This story was first published by the Wakefield Express.

Ferrybridge Power Station demolition: End of an era as final three towers to be demolished