The Wallerawang skyline will be set for a significant change, if EnergyAustralia carries out its demolition plan for the former power station site.
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EnergyAustralia has applied to Lithgow City Council to demolish "all remaining structures" at the former Wallerawang power station site, with a few exceptions.
The plan, which would be carried out over two years, has been estimated to cost approximately $25 million.
On February 3, site owner EnergyAustralia entered into an exclusive agreement with Bettergrow Pty Ltd to potentially repurpose the site.
At that time, head of Mt Piper Greg McIntyre said the company would preserve plant infrastructure if it would make the site more attractive to prospective development.
Wallerawang Lidsdale Progress Association's Roslyn Francis said the group hoped that would be the outcome.
"We have been consistently against the total demolition of the site," she said.
Ms Francis said the group's hopes were that Bettergrow would be able to produce a "good, positive proposal, which would make quite a few jobs available in the long term".
The demolition plan will be presented at Lithgow City Council's first meeting of the year on Monday, February 25 and is currently open to public comment. The exhibition period will end on March 18.
Lithgow City Council's director of economic development and environment Andrew Muir said the proposal would then proceed through the normal assessment process and come back to council at a later date for determination.
He said a specific timeline was not known at this stage, as it would depend on public submissions, the need for more information and other factors.
According to the Wallerawang Power Station Demolition Statement of Environmental Effects (SEE), prepared by Aurecon, EnergyAustralia proposes to demolish all remaining structures at the site, "including cooling towers, chimneys, buildings and warehouses, water tanks, fuel tanks and other storage facilities and associated equipment and plant such as coal handling conveyors, above ground pipelines and electrical systems".
The single remaining power station chimney stack will be retained, as an item listed on the State Heritage Inventory, as well as being identified as a "locally significant heritage item".
The site's other most distinctive features, its chimneys and concrete cooling tower, are likely to be "demolished using explosive charges".
Below ground infrastructure will remain in place, as will roads, concrete slabs, footings and cable tunnels.
The plan flags items including telecommunications equipment, transformers and electrical infrastructure will be or have already been "salvaged for use at Mount Piper Power Station' or offered for sale.
Following demolition, the site would be rehabilitated, the SEE stated.
Decommissioning works have been under way at the Wallerawang site in December 2014.
Consultation on the demolition plan is expected to take in the Wallerawang community and neighbouring communities, as well local and state government authorities and the Blue Mountains Conservation Society.
