Watch: Hazelwood Power Station chimneys demolished by detonation
Eight chimneys at Victoria's defunct, coal-fired Hazelwood Power Station have been demolished.
The chimneys, which soared 137 metres above the town of Morwell in the Latrobe Valley, came down just before 12:30pm on Monday.
Owner Engie provided a live stream of the chimney demolition, which took about a minute and was viewed by thousands.
The chimneys were built in the 1960s and operated for more than half a century before the brown coal fuelled power station was shut down in March 2017.
Site owner Engie unveiled its plan to detonate the chimneys in an online presentation for nearby residents on Thursday evening.
There was about 50 kilograms of asbestos in each chimney and about 12 tonnes of concrete, which will be monitored following the demolition in line with environmental laws.
The eight chimneys on the former Hazelwood Power Station are demolished with explosives.Credit:Joe Armao
Engie has assured locals that the asbestos will not be a threat.
Demolition manager Tom McDowall said that after a thorough risk assessment process, the company had decided that a "controlled collapse", or detonation, would be the safest option.
The chimneys were blown up one by one, four seconds apart, with the collapse of all eight completed in minutes.
Engie has been managing a process of retiring the brown-coal fuelled power station since it closed in 2017, with the ultimate goal to rehabilitate the 4000-hectare site.
Onlookers lined the Princes HIghway to watch the eight chimneys on the former Hazelwood Power Station be demolished.Credit:Joe Armao
The demolition drew large crowds of onlookers with cars lining the Princess Freeway.
Hazelwood Power Corporation was fined $1.56 million on Tuesday in the Supreme Court of Victoria for putting employees and nearby residents at risk by failing to prepare for a fire in February 2014 fire which burnt for 45 days.
The company was not responsible for the blaze, which started near the mine during extreme weather. But a jury found Hazelwood guilty last year of 10 out of 12 occupational health and safety breaches.
Engie said in a statement last week that it had consistently apologised for the mine fire and its impact on the community.
"We repeat this today," it said. "ENGIE Hazelwood’s rehabilitation and remediation of the Hazelwood mine and surrounds continues, with the aim of delivering a safe, stable and sustainable landform."
According to Heritage Victoria documents associated with a failed bid to list the power station for protection, it was built between 1964 and 1971. It was sold into private ownership in 1996 under the Kennett government's privatisation push.
"It is one of nine power stations constructed in the Latrobe Valley between 1924 and 1993 and is part of the important story of the generation of electricity in the region for use across Victoria," Heritage Victoria's assessment of the site says.
"Like all power stations in the Latrobe Valley, it has a strong association with, and connection to the region."
The eight chimneys on the former Hazelwood Power Station are demolished with explosivesCredit:Joe Armao
With AAP