Blue Cooling Tower, Poland

This Blue Cooling Tower lies within an abandoned industrial wasteland in Poland, among the partially demolished remnants of an old powerplant.

I explored this Blue Cooling Tower on a wet and cold evening, during my 2023 tour of Poland.

History of this abandoned Polish Power Station

Construction began in the mid 1950s, and the first turbine and coal-burning heating plant were brought online three years later. This power plant was part of Poland’s national push for post-war reconstruction. After the war, this town became home to a bustling textile industry. All those new factories demanded a ready supply of reliable electricity to power the mills. This powerplant was built to provide that supply, in addition to providing heat and electricity for residential estates and other businesses across the city. The powerplant saw significant investment and expansion, and by the early 1960s there were eight boilers and six turbines working. Eventually another two boilers were brought online, which were fired with fuel oil.

By the early 2010s, the decision was made to decommission the plant. Other, more modern power plants in the city were prioritised for modernisation, as updating this older facility was considered too costly. Additionally, new EU environmental regulations and city-wide CO2 emissions limits certainly impacted the decision. After operating for over half a century, the plant was decommissioned over a three-year period. Subsequently, the site was sold, and the new owners initiated demolition efforts (despite several buildings possessing protected registered monument status). Demolition work was halted due to legal proceedings, and the site currently remains in limbo.

Elektrociepłownie, or combined heat and power (CHP) plants

The power plant is an Elektrociepłownia, or combined heat and power (CHP) plant. This type of plant generates both electricity and heat simultaneously through a unified process. Fuel is burnt in the heating plant’s boiler, heating water to generate steam, which drives turbines to produce electricity. This process is similar to electricity generation in a thermal power plant. However, in thermal power plants, only about 35% of thermal energy is converted into electricity, with up to 65% being lost to the environment. In a CHP plant, this waste heat is captured and transferred to a condenser, heating an enclosed hot water system. This heated water is then directly pumped to buildings in the city, providing heating and hot water.