Holland Plant Comes Crashing Down
James DeYoung Generating Station was a coal-fired power station owned and operated by the Holland Board of Public Works in Holland, Michigan. The plant stopped burning coal on April 13, 2016. The plant was originally built in 1939 with two coal fired boilers, known as Unit 1. It replaced a smaller power plant on a different site. Unit 2 was added in 1953, Unit 4 in 1961, and Unit 5 in 1968.
Bierlein was tasked with the abatement and demolition of the 62.8 megawatt plant. A crew consisting of roughly ten people worked to prepare the structures for the explosive felling. The use of mechanical felling (engineered cable pull) was used to pull over the smaller silo structure.
The boiler structure at James DeYoung Power Plant was demolished by Bierlein Companies with an engineered explosive felling. The plant supplied Holland, Michigan with electricity for 78 years, opening in 1939.
Afterwards, remediation of the site will complete the project. The duration of the project was 11 months. The site will be redeveloped once the demoliton is complete.