Crews Successfully Implode Hartsville Cooling Tower

Crews Implode 540-foot Hartsville Cooling Tower

In the span of a few seconds, in the early morning hours of Sept. 18, the Demolition team at TVA safely and successfully imploded the 540-foot hyperbolic cooling tower located on TVA’s Hartsville property in Trousdale County, Tennessee.

The cooling tower was originally constructed in the 1970s as part of a planned nuclear plant project that was later discontinued.

Over time, the tower has drawn unauthorized visitors, posing increasing risks to public safety and emergency 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.”

The Valley region is growing faster than the national average and, based on future forecasted energy needs, new generating capacity is needed to replace retiring and expiring capacity, support economic growth and enable further electrification of the economy.

TVA’s Demolition crew has been busy across the region, with other projects at Paradise in Kentucky, and at Bull Run in Harriman, Tennessee. TVA continues to build tomorrow together, with plans to add more than 6,200 megawatts of new generation to its power system.

“As we see the Valley continue to grow, we’re working hard to make sure that sites are ready,” Hobson said. “Removing structures we don’t need is a critical part of ensuring that we’re ready for the new generation that’s coming and economic growth for our region.”

What’s Next for Hartsville?

While there are no immediate redevelopment plans for the area where the cooling tower once stood, TVA continuously evaluates its properties to support future opportunities that align with its mission.

“Removing the cooling tower is just one step in a broader process,” Hobson said.

Currently, portions of the Hartsville site are used to support ongoing operations, including satellite office space for employees and staging areas for heavy equipment used in other TVA projects.

Making the Most of It

The concrete from the cooling tower will be ground into smaller pieces and transported to an area on the property to improve heavy equipment storage. The smaller pieces of concrete will be recycled and spread out to create a gravel lot on the Hartsville site.

The team will also recycle the steel that is removed from the concrete.

“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.”