Dismantling of 1984 Marsa boiler chimney underway

As the demolition of the Marsa Power Station enters a new phase, Enemalta plc contractors are now dismantling its highest structure, the 1984 Boiler No. 7 chimney.

At 69 metres above ground, the chimney is the highest point of the 1953 Marsa Power Station. It is made up of five sections bolted together on top of each other. A cross section of the structure shows a 3.4 metre wide steel outlet pipe, encased in an external insulation layer covered with aluminium cladding plates, adding up to a uniform width of 4.2 metres from top to bottom.

The structure forms part of the seventh unit of the power station, which includes a 300 tonne per hour Foster Wheeler steam boiler and a 30 megawatt Ansaldo turbine brought to Malta from a power plant in Palermo in 1984. The refurbished turbine, the steam boiler and its chimney were assembled during the same year with the support of Malta Drydocks.

Boiler No. 7, which is currently being dismantled as well, is the last remaining HFO-fired unit of the Marsa Power Station. All other boilers, including the ones that were kept on cold standby after the power station was shut down in March 2015, were pulled down earlier this year.

In March, as soon as the necessary alternative capacity became available through the new gas-fired plants at Delimara, Enemalta plc disconnected the Marsa Power Station from the national electricity grid to move on to the last phase of its demolition. This includes the dismantling of units No. 6 and No. 7, the removal of the electricity distribution and control equipment and the demolition of all the structures above ground level. Some switchgear equipment and an emergency quick-start diesel generator which were added to the station in recent years will be taken to the Delimara Power Station to consolidate its standby and electricity transmission systems.

All materials dismantled from the Marsa Power Station are being separated and taken away from the power station site through sustainable methods in line with Enemalta’s waste management policies. Where possible, these materials are exported for recycling. The demolition contractors have already removed 6,490 tonnes of iron and steel, 286 tonnes of copper, 243 tonnes of other metals and 88 tonnes of aluminium from the site.

Enemalta plc will be completing the demolition of the Marsa Power Station in 2018.