Video: TVA implodes 540 ft cooling tower

The implosion, carried out by TVA’s Demolition team in the early morning hours of September 18, brought down the massive hyperbolic structure in a matter of seconds.

The tower was originally built in the 1970s as part of a planned nuclear power plant that was never completed. In the decades since, the unused structure had become a target for trespassing, creating growing safety concerns for the public and first responders.

“Removing the cooling tower not only eliminates a safety risk, it’s also part of our effort to remove obsolete infrastructure and prepare sites for any future opportunities,” said Jayme Hobson, General Manager, Demolition. “We’re also putting the materials from the cooling tower to good use.”

Much of the tower’s material will be repurposed. Concrete will be crushed into smaller pieces and spread across the Hartsville property to create a gravel lot for heavy equipment storage, while steel from the structure will be recycled.

TVA said the approach reflects its commitment to maximizing the use of resources across its projects.

“Even though the cooling tower is gone, we’re preserving everything we can for other uses,” Hobson said. “It’s important to make use of materials when we can – and Hartsville is a great example of how we do that for all our projects.”

The implosion is part of a wider TVA program to retire obsolete facilities and prepare for future energy needs. Similar demolition work has recently taken place at Paradise in Kentucky and at Bull Run in Harriman, Tennessee.

With the Valley region’s population and economy growing faster than the national average, TVA plans to add more than 6,200 megawatts of new generating capacity to its system in the coming years. These additions are intended to replace retiring assets, support economic development, and enable further electrification.

While there are no immediate redevelopment plans for the former cooling tower site, TVA said it continuously evaluates its properties for future opportunities that align with its mission. Portions of the Hartsville site remain in active use, serving as office space and staging areas for heavy equipment supporting other TVA projects.