Video: Michigan facility joins power plant demo roster

Parts of former Consumers Energy facility in northern Michigan taken down via implosion.

The most recent coal-burning power plant to face the demolition process is a former Consumers Energy facility in Hampton Township, Michigan, which is about 120 miles north of Detroit.

Jackson, Michigan-based Consumers Energy has included written coverage of the demolition of the former Weadock Plant on its website. The firm also has used its Facebook page to provide updates, including a video clip of an explosion that took place Saturday, Aug. 29.

According to the utility, Lapeer, Michigan-based North American Dismantling Corp. “is safely tearing down the historic plant, named for John C. Weadock, a [Consumers Energy] company founding father.”

However, an August 29 news item on the MLive.com website credits Midland, Michigan-based Bierlein Companies for undertaking an “explosive felling technique to remove the last major structural remnants of the plant.”

Adds MLive, “Bierlein was selected as the replacement contractor to finish the demolition project after it was halted briefly in 2019 when a contract worker was injured after a water tower and other rooftop mechanical equipment came down prematurely during the demolition process.”

According to Consumers Energy on its website, the coal-fired Weadock plant began operating in 1940 and was retired in 2016.

Coverage on the Consumers Energy Facebook page can be found here

Watch the video of the implosion below, courtesy of MLive: