Its twin chimney stacks have towered above the Firth of Forth for half a century. Despite this, it will take only a few seconds to raze Cockenzie power station at midday today.

Thousands of spectators are expected to watch the demolition of the coal-powered giant, which generated its last watts of energy in 2013.

Few in the green lobby will shed tears as Cockenzie falls to the ground. After all, Scotland is at the forefront of a brighter future that utilises greener, cleaner energy.

Others, however, will feel a twinge of sorrow as the 488ft chimneys crash down, if not for the brutalist structure itself, which many people learned to love, then for the end to Scotland’s once-great coal industry that the demolition symbolises.

Could the building have been saved and transformed into something else? Tate Modern, now one of London’s most well-known landmarks, was once plain old Bankside power station.

Perhaps, though it would surely have been more difficult to reinvent such a building in East Lothian than it is in central London.

Maybe it’s best not to be too precious. After all, since its closure Cockenzie has been a rusting reminder that thousands of local people no longer work there. Another sad end for a proud Scottish workhorse.