Beautiful power station
On first entry it looks like most has been stripped. But as is usual in power stations, you soon realise there are many levels and there was still plenty to see.
Built in 1921, Power Plant IM was once one of Belgium's largest coal-burning power plants; by 1977, it had become Charleroi's main source of energy and cooled an astounding 500,000 gallons of water per minute. According to AtlasObscura.com, "water would be let into the cooling tower where it would be cooled by the wind that swept in from portals in the base of the tower, releasing billowing columns of hot air." In the early 2000s, a report discovered that the plant was responsible for 10% of Belgium's total CO2 emissions and attention from Greenpeace protests led to the site's eventual closing in 2007
On first entry it looks like most has been stripped. But as is usual in power stations, you soon realise there are many levels and there was still plenty to see.
Built in 1921, Power Plant IM was once one of Belgium's largest coal-burning power plants; by 1977, it had become Charleroi's main source of energy and cooled an astounding 500,000 gallons of water per minute. According to AtlasObscura.com, "water would be let into the cooling tower where it would be cooled by the wind that swept in from portals in the base of the tower, releasing billowing columns of hot air." In the early 2000s, a report discovered that the plant was responsible for 10% of Belgium's total CO2 emissions and attention from Greenpeace protests led to the site's eventual closing in 2007