Duke Energy implodes smokestacks at its Cape Fear Plant

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MONCURE, N.C. - Duke Energy'’s Cape Fear Plant this morning underwent a major transformation after serving the region well for more than 90 years.

The decommissioning team imploded the two 200-foot smokestacks at the site as part of Duke Energy'’s program to decommission and demolish retired units at nine coal plants in North Carolina.

This is the first of three implosions that will occur at the Cape Fear Plant, weather permitting, before the end of the year. The second will take down the precipitators that formerly captured fly ash when the plant was operational. The third will demolish the boilers and additional structures at the site.

“The Cape Fear Plant has been a part of the local community and a key part of powering the region for nearly a century,” said Indira Everett, Duke Energy'’s district manager. “The implosion of the stacks marks a milestone in the company'’s comprehensive effort to transition to cleaner and more efficient energy sources.”

“Our team will now focus on restoring the land and using a science- and fact-based approach to determine the most appropriate site-specific closure plan for the ash basins,” Everett added.

Duke Energy communicated with neighbors in advance of the event. The company expects to complete filling, grading and seeding the land by mid-2015. The ash basin closure process will operate on a separate schedule.

For video footage of the implosion event, visit youtube.com/user/DukeEnergyMediaCtr. For pictures of the plant and today'’s event, visit flickr.com/photos/DukeEnergy.

For more information about the decommissioning process, visit duke-energy.com/coal-decommissioning. To learn more about Duke Energy’'s ash management plans, visit duke-energy.com/ash-management.