After nearly 50 years of powering Texas, Luminant’s retired North Lake Power Plant has taken on a new role. As part of a significant post-demolition recycling effort, materials from the imploded plant will be shipped to recycling centers around the world for reuse.
The first North Lake unit, located in Dallas County, came online in December 1959. By July 1964, North Lake was a three-unit, natural gas-fueled power plant capable of generating 715-megawatts, enough to power more than 350,000 average Texas homes, making it the largest plant in the company’s fleet at the time.
The plant last operated in 2008 and was retired in the spring of 2009. One by one, the units were imploded over a six-month period in 2012, with the final unit coming down Oct. 4. Following each implosion, crews began a significant post-demolition recycling process. In all, roughly 95 percent – 33 million pounds – of the plant will be recycled. That includes steel, copper and parts and pieces of large equipment dismantled during the demolition process.
“There were many people who worked at this plant over its 50-year lifespan,” said Scott Diermann, Luminant’s director of gas plant operations. “For those who spent their careers here, it’s a little bittersweet to see it come down. However, we all take pride in the fact that virtually all of its materials will be reused. As a committed environmental steward, Luminant tries to ensure our resources are put to the best use.”
Luminant has long been on the forefront of environmental stewardship and innovation. As part of Luminant’s waste reduction initiatives, the company recycled more than 45 million pounds of scrap metal in 2011 alone.
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About Luminant
Luminant, a subsidiary of Energy Future Holdings Corp., is a competitive power generation business, including mining, wholesale marketing and trading, and development operations. Luminant has more than 15,400 megawatts of generation in Texas, including 2,300 MW fueled by nuclear power and 8,000 MW fueled by coal. The company is also one of the largest purchasers of wind-generated electricity in Texas and the nation. EFH is a Dallas-based energy holding company that has a portfolio of competitive and regulated energy subsidiaries, primarily in Texas. Visit https://www.luminant.com/ or http://www.energyfutureholdings.com/ for additional information.