The 499-foot tower was reduced to a 41,000-ton pile of rubble by about 2,800 pounds of explosives Sunday may 21, 2006 It was Oregon's first and only nuclear power plant. Trojan opened in 1975. And was shut down in 1993.

The plant was built near a geological fault in the Columbia River. Ruined Columbia River Sturgeon spawning beds. Built on Native Indian encampments.

In 1989, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission fined PGE for debris in two sumps that could have prevented its emergency core-cooling system from working in a disaster

The facility rarely ran at full capacity, often stopping operations when there was a major snowmelt because PGE could buy excess hydroelectric power from nearby Bonneville Dam cheaper than the power plant could make it. Sending what power was generated to California.

Built for $460 million in the 70s, Trojan was approved to be decommissioned at a $429 million total cost.  Even in its demise Trojan created many construction jobs in the decommission process and for many years. At its peak, Trojan had 1,200 employees almost the same number of local residents in the city of Rainier.

The City of Rainier was the main beneficiary of the millions of tax dollars that Trojan paid into the community, many of the employees lived in the surrounding area. When Trojan closed it caused a hardship for the small community. The community of Rainier has never fully recovered from the loss of tax revenues that Trojan generated.

Even if you are one of the many who was glad when Trojan closed, you can't deny the fact that the cooling tower was an impressive bit of construction. Towering over the landscape, standing majestically visible for many miles. Providing nesting sites for the Endangered Peregrine Falcons.

When Trojan fell Sunday it finalized the death of an era, Nuclear Power once in its glory, was now obsolete. Giving way to the birth of several safe and friendly energy alternates, called (Renewables). A new generation has come. Renewable Energy has become the energy of choice and necessity for the American people. Hopefully renewable energy will remain the choice of the world and the nation for the many generations that will follow us.

May the generations that follow in our footsteps look back on Trojan and its siblings as an era of remarkable advancement in technology for our time, never forgetting what Nuclear Power has left us, the dangerous by product (radioactive spent fuel rods) Trojan may have fell May 21, 2006 but its kind has left its mark on the earth and its inhabitants a solid reminder to foster for millions of years.