Cooling tower of German power plant demolished

A cooling tower at a decommissioned power plant in the German town of Gravenbroch has been dismantled, with video capturing the moment the massive structure collapsed.

Some onlookers applauded as white smoke rose into the air as a controlled explosion occurred at the Frimmersdorf power plant.

One local said it was “weird” to see the gap left by the missing tower but demolishing it was in line with the times.

Georg Bung, project director at German energy company RWE, said the space will be used for a variety of purposes, including a large data center.

The lignite power plant was decommissioned under Germany’s Coal Phase-out Act and has now been partially dismantled.