Holly Street Power Plant

The Holly Street Power Plant was initially constructed in 1958 to serve the growing Austin Community. This electric power plant ran off natural gas and petroleum. It was constructed from 1958 till 1974, but began to produce electricity in 1960.[1] The Holly Street Power Plant operated for 47 years until it was decommissioned in 2007 due to citizen complaints over the chemical spills that took place in 1974, 1991, and 1992 and the noise pollution the plant created.[1]

Holly Street Power Plant
East Austin with the Holly Street Power Plant (circa 1980)
Map
General information
TypePower Plant
Architectural styleConstruction
Address2298 Riverview St Austin, Texas
Town or cityAustin, Texas
Coordinates30°15′02.1″N 97°43′11.5″W / 30.250583°N 97.719861°W / 30.250583; -97.719861
Elevation129 m
Groundbreaking1958
Inaugurated1960
ClosedSeptember 30, 2007
DemolishedOctober 22, 2011
OwnerAustin Energy
Design and construction
Architect(s)J. M. Odom Construction Company

Decommission and destruction

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The plant closed on September 30, 2007. After years of alleged environmental pollution seeping out into nearby neighborhoods as well as the local Town Lake, environmental justice groups fought with the city to demolish the plant. They argued that cancer rates had increased and that the noise from the plant far exceeded normal living thresholds. The plant ceased providing power for nearby residents in 2007, but would not see the actual demolition start until 2011. Companies were sought by the City of Austin to provide the destruction. This would lead to a halt in progress as the city could not reach agreements with multiple companies on payment.[1] Decommissioning of the plant was still in progress in late 2017 when it entered the final stage of decommission: the physical building was gone but many tests to still had to be run before it was fully decommissioned and turned over to the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department.[2][3][4]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Mcknight, Kim. "Parks and Recreation Department Historical background Holly Shores" (PDF). Austin Parks & Recreation.
  2. ^ "Austin Energy to turn over Holly Power Plant site by December". Austin Monitor. 2017-10-03. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  3. ^ "A History of Austin's Famous Hike and Bike Trail, Which Wasn't Always Green". TOWERS. 2018-03-02. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  4. ^ KUT, Nathan Bernier | (21 October 2011). "Holly Power Plant Deconstruction To Begin Saturday". www.kut.org. Retrieved 2020-05-04.