BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Construction workers have begun dismantling a shuttered coal-fired power plant in Billings.
The Billings Gazette reports that the process of taking down the J.E. Corette plant is expected to take four or more months.
PPL Montana shutdown Corette in April, blaming the closure on the high cost of upgrades needed to comply with new restrictions on mercury pollution. The restrictions went into effect and helped drive a wave of coal plant closures across the U.S.
Corette was later spun off with several other PPL assets to Talen Energy.
Talen spokesman Todd Martin says the plant is being decommissioned. He says environmental cleanup measures will need to take place before demolition begins. Crews began removing Asbestos Monday.