Last week, a 540-foot concrete tower in Hartsville, Tennessee came crashing down. The Tennessee Valley Authority demolished a cooling tower that had stood unused for nearly half a century — a relic of a nuclear project abandoned in the 1980s.
The demolition video went viral — not just because of the spectacle of concrete collapsing, but because of what it symbolised. To many, the falling tower represented decades of lost opportunity: a cleaner energy future that could have been built, but wasn't.
It's a powerful image for the challenge we face today: as we build the next generation of energy systems, will we create a future that is more equitable, or will we leave behind a new set of stranded assets and disillusioned communities?
The Unequal Cost of the Transition
The global push toward renewables is rightly celebrated — but it comes with uneven costs.
- Cobalt in the DRC: Over 70% of the world's cobalt, essential for EV batteries, is mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo, often under hazardous conditions and with little benefit to local populations.
- Rare Earths in Namibia: The country is positioning itself as a supplier for the green economy, but without strong governance, the extraction risks mirroring past exploitative commodity booms.
- Coal Communities Everywhere: As coal plants close, from Mpumalanga in South Africa to Appalachia in the US, communities that powered entire economies for generations face collapse without targeted support.
The Hartsville tower is a cautionary tale: transitions that ignore the social dimension create not just economic inefficiencies but intergenerational resentment.
The Symbolism of Hartsville
The TVA nuclear project was cancelled in an era when public fear of nuclear power was high and fossil fuel prices were low. At the time, it seemed like a rational economic choice.
But four decades later, the world faces climate urgency, and many see the demolished tower as a symbol of decisions that delayed the clean energy transition — leaving us with higher emissions, greater costs, and fewer options.
This moment should sharpen our focus on today's choices. Are we designing an energy transition that will stand the test of time? Or will future generations look at today's projects — abandoned wind farms, unprofitable hydrogen facilities, poorly planned resettlements — as evidence that we repeated the same mistakes?
Building a Just Transition
Avoiding another generation of regret requires us to embed justice and inclusion into the core of transition planning. Here's what that looks like:
1. Social Impact as a Design Constraint Major energy projects should measure success not just in megawatts but in jobs preserved, livelihoods enhanced, and local prosperity created. South Africa's $8.5B Just Energy Transition Partnership is a step in this direction, pairing decarbonisation funding with retraining and economic diversification in coal regions.
2. Ethical Supply Chains Companies sourcing critical minerals must commit to verified, transparent, and fair supply chains. That means investment in local infrastructure, living wages, and community participation — not just audits after the fact.
3. Intergenerational Thinking Governments should publish long-term scenario plans that consider 30- to 50-year impacts. This helps prevent stranded assets and creates space for public dialogue about trade-offs, much as Germany did with its coal phase-out roadmap.
4. Financing Mechanisms that Reward Inclusion Blended finance and concessional funding can prioritise projects that demonstrate clear community benefits. Donors and investors should require social performance metrics alongside emissions reductions.
Why This Matters
The Hartsville cooling tower stood for decades as a monument to what could have been. Its demolition should be a wake-up call.
We are making trillion-dollar bets on renewables, storage, hydrogen, and critical mineral supply chains. Done right, this transition can create shared prosperity, power entire continents, and correct historic energy inequities — especially in Africa and the Middle East, where new projects can leapfrog fossil-heavy grids. Done wrong, it risks producing a new generation of stranded assets, economic dislocation, and social backlash.
The Leadership Imperative
Energy transition justice isn't about slowing down climate action — it's about doing it right the first time. That means:
- Embedding social equity and local benefit-sharing into every project.
- Avoiding extractive models that replicate colonial patterns.
- Designing energy systems that are resilient — economically, politically, and socially — for the next 50 years.
The image of the Hartsville tower falling should stay with us. It's a reminder that the decisions we make now will either empower or enrage future generations.
What are you doing to ensure your energy transition projects won't become tomorrow's abandoned monuments? How are you designing for justice, inclusion, and intergenerational resilience?
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