Diesel Farm Power Plant, Belgium

Diesel Farm is a black start power plant in Belgium. This plant was built in the 1970s. The plan has eight ACEC generators, which are capable of generating over 80 megawatts of electricity.

This was not one of our most well-planned visits, and was rather rushed! We had less than 30 minutes to get inside and to take photos, as we were in danger of missing out ferry home. We visited this location in 2017, as part of the Kolossal Tour.

Brief history of Diesel Farm

Initially, as the name suggests, this power plant ran on diesel. Later, the power plant was adapted to run on palm oil. Protestors gathered outside. They appealed for the site to be closed; both due to pollution fears, as well as environmental concerns due to Malaysian palm forest deforestation.

Despite being officially closed around 2010, the lights are on and the plant is still clean. The computer terminals are also still live. Perhaps Diesel Farm is still maintained as part of a contingency plan, for a future unknown emergency.

This was not one of our most well-planned visits, and was rather rushed! We had less than 30 minutes to get inside and to take photos, as we were in danger of missing out ferry home. We visited this location in 2017, as part of the Kolossal Tour.

What is a “Black Start” power station?

A “Black Start” power station is an important part of a countries power grid. In the event of an electricity network blackout, these stations are essential to restore power. If high-voltage power stations supplying the network shut down, they are usually unable to restart. In fact, most power stations require electricity to restart. This is where Diesel Farm would be essential to turning the lights back on.

A “Black Start” is the procedure used to restore power in the event of a total or partial grid shutdown. This power outage may be due to a large power plant shutting down, or even regions of the national grid failing. Diesel power plants, such as Diesel Farm, would likely used to re-start nearby power stations in the event of a blackout. In essence, they act as a means to reboot the system and bring high-voltage stations back online. The idea is restore the electrical grid swiftly following a failure, minimizing downtime of surrounding industry and residences.

Gas turbine and diesel power plants are well-suited to this role; they can be started and generate electricity without relying on external power input. In this case, these diesel generators could be started using on-site batteries and power banks.