SCE&G to Demolish Smokestack on Lake Murray

The smokestack on the north edge of the dam on Lake Murray will be torn down in a few years, according to a report.

SCE&G plans to demolish the smokestack once the coal-fired electrical plant underneath it is retired, according to The State. The tower has been a navigation guide for boaters and a landmark for residents and visitors. 

The company decided to close the plant — called McMeekin Plant — in May in an effort to comply with tougher clean-air standards, according to a company press release.

SCE&G plans to switch the plant to natural gas by 2015, and tear it down by 2018 when the company's nuclear plant in Jenkinsville is completed.

When the nuclear plant opens, SCE&G expects about one-third of its electric generation to be fueled by nuclear power, one-third by natural gas and one-third by scrubbed coal-fired plants. 

McMeekin Plant, which opened in 1958, burns 96 tons of coal per hour when operating at full load, according to SCE&G. That's enough to supply electricity to 250 residential customers for a month. 

SCE&G plans to retire up to six coal-fired generating units at three locations by the end of 2018.