We had visited the HF4 blast furnace last year but like everyone else at the time we missed the power station. Fast forward to 2016, @SpiderMonkey and I gave ourselves just a couple of days to plan a last-minute trip to visit some of Europe’s power stations and we remembered how much like a power station this little building looked. Closer examination on a map got our hopes up so we headed back to the site to have a look around. The turbines had been covered with enclosures, hiding them away which was a shame but the little power station was good to visit. It’s amazing what you can find when you have a quick look!
1. The power plant and blast furnace
History of the HF4 Power Plant
The power station is an integral part of the HF4 Blast Furnace site in Belgium. Steel making requires a lot of power, so many sites have their own power station to meet this demand. The plant at HF4 contains two turbines, but does not have its own boiler house. Steam was provided from a near-by power station at Monceau-sur-Sambre (often called Power Plant IM) via a huge pipeline connecting the two sites. A stand-by diesel generator is also housed in the turbine hall. The blast furnace was mothballed in 2008 and the power station was closed down shortly after in 2009.
There were a large number of local control panels, but we were unable to find a control room; presumably the plant was centrally controlled from the remote plant where the steam was produced.
2. The turbines were inside enclosures
3. Turbine inside enclosure
4. Maag turbine gear
5. Enclosure
6. Turbine hall
7. Generator and control panel
8. Generator and enclosed turbine
9. Stand-by diesel generator
10. Diesel generator pipes
11. Turbine hall overview
12. Office
13. Locker room
14. High voltage switchroom
15. High voltage switchgear
16. Local control panels
17. Control deck
18. More local panels
19. Pipes and panels
1. The power plant and blast furnace
History of the HF4 Power Plant
The power station is an integral part of the HF4 Blast Furnace site in Belgium. Steel making requires a lot of power, so many sites have their own power station to meet this demand. The plant at HF4 contains two turbines, but does not have its own boiler house. Steam was provided from a near-by power station at Monceau-sur-Sambre (often called Power Plant IM) via a huge pipeline connecting the two sites. A stand-by diesel generator is also housed in the turbine hall. The blast furnace was mothballed in 2008 and the power station was closed down shortly after in 2009.
There were a large number of local control panels, but we were unable to find a control room; presumably the plant was centrally controlled from the remote plant where the steam was produced.
2. The turbines were inside enclosures
3. Turbine inside enclosure
4. Maag turbine gear
5. Enclosure
6. Turbine hall
7. Generator and control panel
8. Generator and enclosed turbine
9. Stand-by diesel generator
10. Diesel generator pipes
11. Turbine hall overview
12. Office
13. Locker room
14. High voltage switchroom
15. High voltage switchgear
16. Local control panels
17. Control deck
18. More local panels
19. Pipes and panels