Moment cooling tower is demolished at German power plant

A cooling tower of a decommissioned power plant has been demolished in the German town of Grevenbroich, with video capturing the moment the huge structure collapsed.

Clouds of white smoke rose into the air, while some of the onlookers present clapped as the controlled explosion took place at the Frimmersdorf power plant.

One local said it was “strange” to see the gap left by the missing tower, but that its removal was need to keep up with the times.

Georg Bung, a project director for German energy company RWE, said the space would be used for several things, including a large data centre.

The lignite-fired power plant was decommissioned, and now partly demolished, in line with Germany’s Coal Phase-out Act.