Coal Power Plant Demolished For Nuclear Fusion Prototype – CleanTechnica

---

Support CleanTechnica’s work through a Substack subscription or on Stripe.

---

In reading about sustainable energy and writing about it, there have been some happy news stories where former landfills are outfitted with solar power arrays and where abandoned coal mines also are found to have solar power potential. Rivian is involved with one such project as reported on this site. I also conducted an interview about a derelict petrol station transforming into an EV charging hub.

Now comes another reversal of technologies situation: this one is about getting rid of a coal power plant for a cleaner source of electricity. Chris Mowry, CEO at Type One Energy, answered some questions about the project.

What was the generating capacity of the Bull Run Fossil Plant and where was it located?

864 MWe.

Why was it demolished?

The plant was commissioned in 1967 and ran for many years as one of the highest performing coal plants in the US. In August 2018, TVA began studying whether to retire Bull Run and on February 14, 2019, the TVA board of directors voted 5-2 to close Bull Run by December 2023. High operational costs and low capacity factor were its factors in their decision. The plant was officially shut down on December 1, 2023. Operations to decommission the former plant were started shortly after the shut down with decommissioning/demolition beginning in early 2025. Although not all of the structures will be demolished, the demolition will continue into early 2026.

Who demolished it and how long did it take to bring it down?

TVA hired demolition specialists to handle the work.

Where will the prototype fusion plant be built and how long will it take to build it?  

The Infinity One stellarator will be built in the existing Turbine Hall, with some systems being built on existing concrete pads where other parts of the steam plant was located.

How many jobs will be created to build it? 

We expect several hundred construction jobs will be required to deliver our project.

How much will the prototype cost?

The total project costs are confidential, but upwards of $300 M USD.

Why start with a prototype, will it be used for some testing? 

We view the Infinity One stellarator as a design verification device, not necessarily as a true prototype.  Infinity One will verify several of the design characteristics of our Infinity Two fusion power plant, which we are designing concurrently with the Infinity One stellarator.  

How safe will the prototype be and how safe would a full, commercial nuclear fusion plant be?

Both will have safety-by-design process and detection systems to control and contain activated materials similarly found for medical application (e.g., cyclotrons). We are working closely with regulatory agencies to validate safety constraints for all relevant systems to inform the development of requirements specific to our technology. This comprehensive approach allows us to validate early and often in the design process that we are meeting regulatory expectations paving the way for a smooth licensing process.

What is the expected cost for the whole commercial fusion plant?

The Infinity Two fusion power plant is expected to compete with most other forms of electricity generation on an LCOE basis. Our N’th of a kind cost targets are in line with traditional coal or combined cycle natural gas generation assets.

Will the prototype generate electricity, and if so, how much?

Infinity One will not generate net energy out. 

How much could the full fusion plant generate?

Our Infinity Two fusion power plant is expected to generate 300-350 MWe net energy to the grid.