- The dismantling of the installations will employ about 130 people when the volume of work is at its highest, and will last a total of 48 months.
- Endesa will collaborate with the Ciuden and Santa Bárbara foundations to organise training courses for 200 students in dismantling thermal power stations.
- While dismantling work is being undertaken, the circular economy concept will be applied to process the 266,870 tons of waste that will then have a second life.
Endesa began dismantling the Compostilla thermal power plant and closing the landfill, in Cubillos del Sil, an operation of great technical complexity that will provide work for about 130 people, 80% from El Bierzo, for 48 months.
While dismantling this historic plant, Endesa will apply circular economy principles, as it does in the rest of the plants in this process, which will not only provide employment for the local population, but also optimise the use of waste, estimated at around 266,870 tons, and thanks to the selective demolition system used this may be recovered and reused.
"Endesa has involved all areas of the company to undertake dismantling that is not only technically exemplary, but also sustainable and under circular economy principles and we are achieving this," said Miguel Temboury, CEO of Endesa Noroeste, who highlighted the importance of "the participation of local labour qualified thanks to the training courses given. Endesa is not abandoning the locations of its historic power plants, we are using new technology and undertaking new projects to also be part of the future."
The Compostilla thermal power plant was in three sections, generating a total power of 1,051.7 megawatts (MW), which had come into operation between 1972 and 1985. Two other older sections were already in the process of dismantling when the plant was closed in 2020, after having been in service since the early 60s. The plant's installations occupy about 375 hectares, which can clearly be differentiated as three separate areas: An area that houses the electricity generation sections, another that houses the transformation parks and auxiliary installations, and the coal deposit with a landfill for non-hazardous waste.
Circular economy in the dismantling process: Jobs
Before the dismantling process begins, in which circular economy concepts are applied, there has been a certain amount of work involving safety and installation undertaken previously by Recifemetal, the company to which the job was assigned. The closure of the landfill for non-hazardous waste (ash and plaster) will be executed by Intacta.
Work will take about 48 months, and there will be a maximum number of 130 people working on the site at the time when the volume of work is at its highest. The workers will come largely from former contractors or they will residents of El Bierzo, since Endesa made a commitment to sustainability and to give priority in the tender to bids that included the largest number of local employees. In this regard, 80% of all the workers who will participate in the dismantling will be from the region.
For professional qualifications not to be an obstacle in the search for job opportunities by residents in the region, Endesa organised four training courses in dismantling thermal power plants and in which two hundred students participated. The Ciuden (Ministry of Ecological Transition) and Santa Bárbara (Regional Government of Castile-León) Foundations collaborated with the company in the teaching activity.
The management of the demolition is being undertaken by a highly qualified team, which a complex task like the one being undertaken in Cubillos del Sil requires. The work is part of a detailed project where nothing is improvised, with the aim of maintaining a high standard of safety for the high number of personnel involved.
Circular economy in the dismantling process: Demolition
Endesa is applying circular economy principles to the project. This involved establishing a selective demolition system, which is defined as a set of operations undertaken gradually and in a coordinated manner so as much as possible of the material from the waste resulting from the demolition can be subsequently used. This minimises the portion destined for disposal in authorised landfills. This is a very ambitious target, bearing in mind that there will be more than 266,870 tonnes of waste.
To reduce the impact on the environment as much as possible, an exhaustive environmental monitoring plan will be followed, paying special attention to emissions and discharges during the execution of the work, whilst keeping the wastewater treatment plant for the plot in operation.
Following the on-site implementation and execution of the above tasks, the belts and other surface equipment that would otherwise have interfered with the closure of the landfills were also dismantled. For this last activity, the supply of waterproofing and sealing material for surfaces has already been completed and with this the first steps towards closure have now been taken.
The fuel and oil tanks have also been emptied and the wiring, electrical panels, luminaires, sheets and other small material have been dismantled. All this waste was managed in accordance with the regulations, recovering and re-using the material whenever possible. Dismantling has also begun in the desulphurisation zone of sections 4 and 5, to be followed by the de-heating and dismantling of the electro-filters in these sections.
Endesa's commitment to circular economy includes the re-use of concrete waste. For this, crushing equipment will be installed in Compostilla with sufficient capacity to process 300 tons per hour; it will have at least one jaw crusher, a magnetic separator to segregate the detached framework and a filter screen to classify the crushed concrete. This will enable the re-use of the steel frameworks and recycled sand and gravel to fill the holes generated during the works. The aim is to maintain the current land gradient by using the waste to fill any gaps that appear after the demolition.
Most of the waste generated on site, such as gypsum, bituminous mixtures, contaminated soil and rocks, refractory coatings, sludge containing hazardous substances, calcium waste, ash and wood containing harmful substances will be processed by an authorised agent, except for any concrete resulting from demolition which will be re-used on site. Most of the waste generated will be destined for re-use and only that for which there is no other solution will be eliminated. As far as possible, transformer waste will be loaded directly onto lorries and sent to an authorised agent, although the bulkiest waste will be previously dismantled in a warehouse.
The remains of fibres and asbestos will initially be removed by specialised companies, so they will not be stored on site. There will be at least ten closed 30m3 containers available for solids and fifty 1,000-litre drums for liquids. Waste chemicals will also be stored in drums.
During the works, the re-use of mechanical equipment, tanks and deposits that are in good condition may be considered, especially by the business promoters covered by Endesa's Futur-e Plan. If this is not finally considered feasible, all the waste generated will be recovered preferentially, or sent to an authorised agent if this is not possible.
Seven demolition zones
Endesa has grouped the demolition areas into on-site homogeneous systems and installations. These zones are as follows:
- Zone 1 Turbines: This consists of the turbine buildings for groups 1, 2 and 3 and for groups 4 and 5. It also includes the equipment for groups 3, 4 and 5, including generators, turbines, condensers, heaters and other associated installations.
- Zone 2 Boilers: This consists of boilers, electrostatic precipitators and demineralised water tanks.
- Zone 3 Gas desulphurisation plants: This includes the three gas desulphurisation plants with their components, the gypsum dehydration building, the water treatment plant, the pump house, the electrical building, the belts and the plaster silos.
- Zone 4 Tall slender structures: These installations will be dismantled and demolished by blasting, and they include chimneys and cooling towers. However, coal silo buildings will be dismantled and demolished by conventional means.
- Zone 5 Coal storage installations: These include all the installations in the coal storage park, stacking machines, collectors, retro extractors, trippers, the coal crushing building, ore transfer towers, electric coking buildings, sampling towers, scales, coal hoppers, fuel transport belts, coal unloading hoppers, etc.
- Zone 6 Buildings and sundry structures: This area includes general installations that are outside the jurisdiction of the above zones, such as the office building, the raw water tank and water pre-treatment area, the cooling water ponds, warehouses and workshops.
- Zone 7 Specialist elements: Railway and underground galleries.
Demolition of chimneys and towers
Endesa will use explosives to dismantle tall slender structures at the Compostilla power station, and these consist of three chimneys and two cooling towers. Full demolition by controlled explosion will be applied to the former, while collapse by implosion will be applied to the cooling towers which involves blowing up the pillars and the support ring from inside to outside.
The chimneys are of different heights, 120, 270 and 290 metres. However, the cooling towers have the same dimensions: They are 109 metres high and the diameter at the base is 79.5 metres.
Futur-e plan to relaunch El Bierzo
Having addressed the closure of the thermal power plant and providing employment for the workforce, Endesa is also developing the Compostilla Futur-e Plan to mitigate the consequences of the energy transition being undertaken in Europe, with the aim of achieving decarbonisation following social, economic and environmental sustainability criteria. The aim is to create shared value with all those involved locally in order to achieve fair transition towards new business models.
The Futur-e plan includes an international competition for initiatives from which five projects were selected as binding proposals to be installed on the current site for the plant. Endesa will also be directly engaged in three business plans: Two of its own and a third included from among the five initiatives mentioned. As a result, Compostilla could become a benchmark for sustainable mobility, social and health services and the circular economy on a national scale. Additional actions foreseen by the Futur-e Plan include the development of 625 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy.
The five proposals selected as a result of the competition are linked to the mobility sector, the provision of social and health services, two initiatives to manufacture industrial products and construction materials by using by-products from industrial and waste processes, and a hydrogen production plant with the involvement of Endesa as an industrial partner.
With regard to the green hydrogen production plant, Endesa is collaborating with the promotion company whose project is one of a hundred such projects in Spain that have been presented to obtain financial support from the Recovery Fund. Endesa's involvement consists of building the complex's photovoltaic plant and investing in the installations that will produce green hydrogen (obtained with the supply of renewable electricity).
Endesa will also contribute to relaunching the economy of El Bierzo with two projects for plants to recycle electric vehicle batteries and wind turbine blades, initiatives that require the support of public financing through the Recovery Fund.
The final assessment of the five projects selected in the competition is scheduled for next September. This will be the responsibility of a committee that includes the Institute for the Fair Transition, the Ministry of Ecological Transition, the General Directorate of Energy of the Regional Government of Castile-León, the mayors of Ponferrada and Cubillos del Sil, the University of León and Endesa.
When the projects have been assessed, the business promoters will take over the installations and the space they need on the surface area that was occupied by the Cubillos del Sil power station. This could end up as an integral project or as the sum of several of those presented. Three of the projects incorporate the objectives for circular economy, directly linked to Endesa's strategy in this regard, which is an integral component of the Futur-e programme which begins with the dismantling of the thermal power plant.
About Endesa
Endesa is the leading electricity company in Spain and the second largest in Portugal. It is also the second largest gas operator in the Spanish market. It is an integrated business operation that encompasses everything from generation to marketing, and through Endesa X it provides added value services aimed at decarbonising the energy used in homes, companies, industries and government agencies. Endesa is firmly committed to the United Nations SDGs and as a result decisively promotes the development of renewable energies through Enel Green Power Spain, the electrification of the economy and Corporate Social Responsibility. We also work in the latter area through the Endesa Foundation. We have around 10,000 employees. Endesa is part of Enel, the largest electricity group in Europe.