Duke Energy Begins Demolition Of Buck Steam Station Coal Plant In Salisbury

SALISBURY, N.C. — A piece of North Carolina history was demolished Thursday, as Duke Energy imploded the oldest sections of the Buck Steam Station coal plant in Salisbury.

Duke Energy officials say the plant, which began operation in 1926, was the company’s first “modern” pulverized coal plant and helped electrify the Carolinas.   The coal plant was retired in 2013.

The site continues to house a natural gas plant that began operating in 2011 as part of Duke’e initiative to transition to cleaner energy sources.

A second and final implosion is schedule for sometime in the fall of 2018.

Duke Energy says it is moving forward with plans to excavate and recycle coal ash from the basins at the site, as well as building an ash reprocessing unit that will remove extra carbon from the ash and make it usable for the concrete industry.

Ash excavation is expected to begin in late 2019 or early 2020.