HARTSVILLE, TN - On Thursday morning, September 18, 2025, the skyline of Trousdale County changed forever. Just 58 miles northeast of Murfreesboro, TVA contractors pushed a single button at sunrise, triggering the implosion of the 540-foot hyperbolic cooling tower at the long-abandoned Hartsville Nuclear Plant. Within seconds, the iconic structure came crashing down in a carefully controlled demolition that ended a decades-long chapter in Tennessee’s energy history. 

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) oversaw the demolition, coordinating with expert contractors and local, state, and federal agencies. Safety was the top priority, officials stressed, with temporary roadblocks in place, airspace restrictions that included a drone and aircraft ban, and a secured perimeter. Residents nearby were warned of a brief but loud noise, and TVA quickly released a video of the implosion on its social media channels.

The removal was part of TVA’s larger effort to clear obsolete infrastructure, reduce hazards, and prepare the Hartsville site for “tomorrow’s potential opportunities.” In other words, the cooling tower—once the most visible reminder of an unrealized nuclear future—had outlived its purpose (Scroll down for more).

A Nuclear Dream That Never Materialized - The Hartsville Nuclear Plant was supposed to be a flagship TVA project. Planned in the late 1960s and supported by a 1974 Environmental Impact Statement, construction began in 1975 with the goal of building four GE boiling water reactors (BWR/6). Split into “Plant A” and “Plant B,” the complex would have generated nearly 5,000 megawatts of electricity, making it one of the largest nuclear facilities in the world.

But by the early 1980s, economic and regulatory realities began to sink the dream. Demand for power slowed, costs ballooned, and public confidence in nuclear energy plummeted after the Three Mile Island accident. TVA canceled the two Plant B reactors in 1983 and scrapped the remaining two in 1984 (Scroll down for more).

Repurposing the Site - The vast TVA property has since been repurposed in parts. A 2,552-bed medium-security prison, the Trousdale Turner Correctional Center, opened in 2016 at a cost of $143 million. Some parcels were sold to local development authorities to establish the PowerCom Industrial Center, designed to attract new businesses to Trousdale County.

But until Thursday, the looming cooling tower remained the most prominent—and haunting—reminder of the failed project. Its implosion marked the symbolic closing of one chapter and the clearing of the stage for whatever comes next (Scroll down for the amazing view from the  property).

TVA

Looking Ahead - For locals, the event was bittersweet: the tower had stood as a landmark for decades, but also as a monument to missed opportunities. TVA’s demolition underscores its current strategy of eliminating obsolete facilities while making space for modern energy solutions, such as the proposed Ridgeline Expansion Project, a natural gas plant slated for the Hartsville site.

The Hartsville plant never generated a single watt of nuclear power, but its story continues to ripple through Tennessee’s energy history—now with one less tower to cast a shadow on what might have been (Scroll down for more).

Article and photos by WGNS' Scott Walker. See his blog HERE.