From staff reports
Southwestern Electric Power Co. on Thursday demolished much of the long-retired H.W. Pirkey Power Plant in Hallsville to get the site ready for a planned natural gas-fired power plant.
Videos shared on social media show what appear to be explosives causing the stacks and boiler to implode and crash to the ground. An alarm sounded in the moments before the explosion.
SWEPCO reported that Pirkey was its first lignite-fired power plant when it began operating on a snowy day on Jan. 3, 1985.
The 675-megawatt plant was named after Henry W. Pirkey Jr., SWEPCO president from 1965 to 1972.
The company announced in 2020 that it would retire the plant in 2023 to comply with new environmental regulations.
The company reported SWEPCO and the Pirkey Plant partnered with the Just Transition Fund to form the Pirkey Transition Task Force, which consisted of two dozen local leaders, organizations, school districts and business owners. The task force met bi-weekly to gather data, set priorities, engage the community and develop an action plan.
This approach allowed SWEPCO and the Pirkey Plant to participate actively without leading the discussion.
性视界传媒淭his collaboration was pioneering in the energy industry,性视界传媒 SWEPCO reported.
性视界传媒淲e know customers need an energy system that is available to deliver reliable, affordable, and environmentally sustainable power where and when they need it,性视界传媒 said Brett Mattison, SWEPCO president and COO. 性视界传媒淢eeting our customers性视界传媒 needs性视界传媒 now and the future 性视界传媒 requires a diverse generation portfolio, and we性视界传媒檙e actively working toward additional, dispatchable generation.性视界传媒
In January, SWEPCO announced three requests for proposals for additional generation and capacity resources to supply the needs of its customers and comply with Southwest Power Pool性视界传媒檚 planning reserve margin requirements.
Competitive reviews are underway and could include resources of up to 2,100 MW of accredited capacity through a range of generation sources, including natural gas, wind, solar and storage resources. The proposal documents indicate a new plant at the Pirkey site would use natural gas as its primary fuel source. The documents also estimate the new facility would be operational by Dec. 1, 2027.
性视界传媒淩eadying the Hallsville site allows us to advance our goals for our energy delivery system and further diversify SWEPCO性视界传媒檚 generation resource mix,性视界传媒 Mattison said.
SWEPCO is requesting proposals for these resources through purchase and sale agreements, power purchase agreements and capacity purchase agreements. Once proposals are selected from the three RFPs, SWEPCO will seek necessary regulatory approvals.