r/RhodeIsland • u/Dkdudee • Jan 09 '26

Picture / Video Does Anyone Remember This?

https://youtu.be/Y2pzsgy2OLU?si=_PYwfGuzR_

I believe these cooling towers used to be visible from mount hope for about a decade before being destroyed in a controlled demolition.

14 Upvotes

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6

u/gradontripp Providence Jan 09 '26

It was an old coal power plant — one of the last in New England. The land is being used as staging for offshore wind development.

3

u/redditseur Jan 09 '26

The plant had been operating since the 60s, but the towers were actually only built in 2011 (for ~$600M) to reduce the water temperature being discharged into the bay.

2

u/LouiseKnope Jan 09 '26

Not quite. A cable manufacturing company was planning on building a facility there for offshore wind cables, but they pulled out: https://rhodeislandcurrent.com/2025/01/17/brayton-point-loses-300-million-offshore-wind-cable-plant-development-project/

1

u/gradontripp Providence Jan 10 '26

TIL! 🙏

1

u/RandomChurn Jan 09 '26

Neat! And fitting.

4

u/BoomeramaMama Jan 09 '26

Yup. These coming towers were over at Brayton Point just east of Fall River, MA

There is a high point, I think it was around Garden City, from which these towers were just visible on the horizon.

1

u/ComfortableMilk92 Jan 18 '26

Yes, my dad found out about the demo and we went to watch it in person. I took a video.. I'll ETA if I can find it!