Former Generating Site Prepares for New Life
Before and after photos show the dramatic changes to the landscape at the retired Hatfield's Ferry Power Station. The plant's two hyperbolic cooling towers are scheduled for demolition late this summer.
March 10, 2023
| History of Hatfield’s Ferry
Hatfield’s Ferry Power Station was one of the company’s largest coal-fired generating facilities in Pennsylvania. The 1,710-megawatt (MW) station was made up of three 570-MW units that came online from 1969 to 1971. The plant burned an average of 10,000 tons of coal per day. Hatfield’s Ferry got its name from a ferry operation that transported people and supplies across the Monongahela River from the late 1880s until 1927 when the Masontown Bridge opened. The ferry was originally named for L. Hatfield who owned a 90-acre farm in the area. |
We recently demolished three emissions stacks at the former Hatfield’s Ferry Power Station to get the 236-acre site ready for future development.
“The safe removal of the stacks is an important step in positioning this Greene County site for future economic productivity,” said Sam Belcher, senior vice president, Operations. “Once demolition activities are complete, the site will feature attractive attributes for energy-intensive and water-intensive industries. Level tracts of vacant land along navigable rivers are a rarity in southwestern Pennsylvania.”
A specialized demolition contractor used strategically placed charges around the bases of the three stacks, safely bringing them down in a controlled implosion. The station’s original twin stacks – immediately adjacent to the boiler house – stood about 700 feet tall. The other 540-foot stack – connected to the plant’s flue-gas desulfurization equipment (scrubbers) – was the only one in operation at the time of Hatfield Ferry’s closure in 2013.
FirstEnergy subsidiaries will continue to own and maintain the site as an open grassy area until a use is identified. This includes an operational high-voltage electric substation, which would give a future business access to power from the regional transmission network. The property will also retain a water-intake structure on the Monongahela River.
North American Dismantling Corporation (NADC), the primary demolition contractor, began work at the sprawling plant last year and has made significant headway, removing smaller structures and ductwork. Various metals are being hauled from the site for recycling, and power-generation turbines and other equipment are being removed from the boiler house and other buildings for reclamation.
The plant’s two massive cement hyperbolic cooling towers are scheduled for demolition late this summer, followed by the boiler house in the fall. Demolition activities should be completed in early 2024.
Watch a video of the stack implosion.