In a matter of minutes, the old smokestack and more recent scrubber – a tower that removes dioxide from emissions – fell like giant trees, leaving mounds of rubble as they hit the ground.
Workers set off implosions with a boom at each structure’s base on Saturday, at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Bull Run Fossil Plant. The Claxton plant opened in 1967, and TVA retired it in 2023 as part of its plans to close all its coal plants by 2035 as the agency moves “to focus on clean energy.”
The utility has already closed some facilities to focus on clean energy and plans to replace the coal-fired plants with natural gas, nuclear and solar plants and energy efficiency measures.