Old Xcel Energy Smokestack To Be Imploded Saturday Morning
Save Email Print
Posted: 9:08 AM Jun 27, 2008
Old Xcel Energy Smokestack To Be Imploded Saturday Morning
St. Paul Structure Stands 570-Feet Tall
width:200 and height: 120 and picwidth: 200 and pciheight: 120
Font Size:

ESTACK IMPLOSION

NEW: Xcel Energy to implode smokestack in St. Paul

ST. PAUL (AP) -- A 570-foot smokestack that's part of a power plant in St. Paul will soon be a pile of dust.

Xcel Energy plans to implode the smokestack Saturday morning. The utility says the 36-year-old structure is being brought down to make way for cleaner technology.

The smokestack weighs more than 57-hundred tons, so imploding the structure is taking some planning.

Company officials say a small explosive charge will destroy key elements in the base. The smokestack is then expected to drop straight down for a few feet before falling like a tree.

While there will be a lot of dust, officials say the smokestack will be largely intact when it lands on the ground.

Xcel is replacing the coal-burning power plant the smokestack was attached to and replacing it with one fired by natural gas.

wi jobs
Check out the latest job postings from the WEAU Job Board! View More Jobs.