St. Johns River Power Park cooling towers set for demolition

A few months after shutting down the St. Johns River Power Park, the site’s two 464-foot-tall cooling towers are ready to come down. The city has approved a permit for demolition of the towers, which is expected to cost $14,511,047. JEA spokeswoman Gerri Boyce said she does not have an exact date for the demolition.
Until it shut down in January, the St. Johns River Power Park was a coal-fired electric generating plant, 80 percent of which was owned by JEA and 20 percent by Florida Power and Light. About 200 workers were displaced when the plant closed. At most, the plant consumed 4.5 million tons of coal per year. By closing the plant, JEA reduced its carbon footprint by 30 percent, according to the utility’s website. The facility, located at 11201 New Berlin Road in northeast Jacksonville, took $1.45 billion to construct in the early 1980s. It began producing electricity in 1987. The plant sits on a 1,600-acre site. JEA plans to sell the land, with the exception of about 100 acres near the plant, which JEA will use to possibly build a natural gas plant.
New York-based Total Wrecking & Environmental has contracted with JEA to conduct the demolition.

By Allison Colburn –Jacksonville Business Journal