Endesa plans during the last quarter of this year the gradual demolition of one of the two chimneys of the Caletillas thermal power plant. In addition, the company’s decarbonization plans are included. Around the same time, the company is also planning to dismantle the smaller of the two chimneys at the Jinámar plant in Gran Canaria.
The two chimneys Caletillas thermal power plant they have been out of service since October 3, 2010, ending their useful life with 20,000 hours of operation, just the operating time established by RD 430/2004, which contemplates stricter regulations for limiting the emissions of certain polluting agents from of large combustion plants.
With the dismantling of the chimney of the Caletillas thermal power plant, the complete dismantling and removal of material from steam groups 3 and 4, both already unavailable, will also be carried out. Both groups add 487,770 hours of operation. This recall includes turbines, generators, condensers and ancillary equipment as highlights.
The work will be carried out in different phases to make the installation “as safe as possible”. The technicians announce that it will be a “complicated” dismantling that will require several actions and that it will have to be carried out by a company specialized in the treatment, segregation and recovery and subsequent recycling of waste. In fact, in the next few days the work will go out to tender.
The first step to be carried out in the dismantling of the chimney of the Caletillas thermal power plant will be the removal of the refractory bricks from its interior and the joints and brackets that support them, through the use of interior platforms. The debris will be dropped into the chimney shaft and will be removed by opening in the lower area.
In the case of the shaft, there is the possibility of using wire cutting and the use of a crane, or the use of work platforms with robots is also contemplated. The definition of the method to be used will be reflected at the time of awarding the work. The execution budget for the work on the Caletillas thermal power plant, which is currently out for tender, amounts to 1,097,000 euros.
The director of the Generation area in the Canary Islands, Saúl Barrio, explained that the groups that are now being dismantled were essential for the development of Tenerife, and now is the time to give way to another type of decarbonized energy: “Conventional manageable energies will continue to supporting the transition guaranteeing the quality of supply and will lose prominence as the entry of renewables increases”.
Regarding the technical characteristics of the chimney of the Caletillas thermal power plant to be demolished, its height of 76.5 meters stands out. The chimney is shaped like a conical trunk with a diameter of 6.22 meters at its base and 3.70 meters at its crown. The thickness of the shaft is also variable, between 0.48 meters at its base and 0.20 meters at its crown.
The exterior is structured in reinforced concrete, while the interior has a refractory brick lining. The workers in charge of environmental control accessed the middle height by means of a ladder and elevator, while the crowning can only be climbed using a metal cat ladder attached to the chimney shaft.
History of the Caletillas thermal power plant
The Caletillas thermal power plant is located in the municipality of the same name, in the northwest of the island of Tenerife. It has four groups of fuel oil, three of gas turbine and three diesel. The four steam groups generated 40 MW of power each. The first two came into operation in 1975 and the other two in 1979 and 1984, respectively.
The first gas turbine group, with a power of 37.5 MW, began operating in 1988. The second, also with a power of 37.5 MW, was connected to the grid in 1989. Both were installed to replace previous ones . A third group of 17.2 MW remains in production, which began operating in 1972. These three groups use gas oil as fuel.
The three diesel groups of the plant provide a power of 12 MW each. They went into production between 1972 and 1973.
