Wonderful power plants architecture

More or less dangerous, but necessary, old or new, power plants like any other buildings are able to tell a story of the past centuries or give us a perspective on of the future. Recently I received from Reinfried Marass a beautiful picture of Austria’s oldest hydro-electrical power plant. You can see it below, followed by pictures of other power stations around the world.

Nuclear Pacific – Diablo Canyon, nuclear power plant built on a gorgeous expanse of California Coast next to a beautiful state park.

Sweet as a candy – Spittelau thermal plant in Vienna painted by one of the most famous Austrian artists of the 20th century, Friedensreich Hundertwasser.

From inactive power plant to vibrant public space – Glenwood waterfront and power plant regeneration project combining ” playful and innovative design with dynamic local community input”; from power plant to multi-use complex.

Sun shining for future – an impressive project for green energy and the first commercial solar power station in Europe (Seville, Spain); a gigantic, 40 story concrete tower surrounded by fields of photovoltaic panels.

Underwater world – Power-generating buoys capable to harnesses wave energy from 50 meters below the surface.

Old Georgia – Old Georgia Power Hydro-Electric Plant at Hurrican Shoals, a two generator plant turned into a corn mill.

The Powerhouse - The inspiration for the Conservancy and its flagship campaign, the Hudson and Manhattan Powerhouse is an industrial age masterpiece. Built between 1906 and 1908, the nine story Romanesque Revival structure powered the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad, now known as the PATH train.  With the construction of the Powerhouse, for the first time people could travel between New York and New Jersey directly by rail on the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad.

Copyright © Steve Kelley, Source: mudpig on flickr

Lisbon wonders – Serpa, the largest photovoltaic solar power plant situated in Portugal, located roughly 125 miles south of Lisbon on a hillside pasture covered with olive trees. The solar power plant, which boasts 52,000 photovoltaic modules and cost around $75 million, has 11MW of installed power capacity.

Floating in the ocean

Sterling solar dish - part of a proposed solar farm that when done will result in a massive, 4,500-acre solar generating station in Southern California, 70 miles north west of Los Angeles.

Steam igloo – not a real igloo, but a small part of an Iceland geothermal power station (Reykjavik).

Old vs New – “Swan Falls Dam is along the Snake River Birds of Prey Conservation area. They point out in the signs that the old historic power plant sits right next to the smaller, more efficient modern one. But the old one certainly looks much better.” Source: terriem

Old vs New - Sizewell A (left) nuclear power station in Suffolk, eastern England, one of the world’s two oldest commercial nuclear power stations; Sizewell B domed, modern building (right) – UK’s most modern nuclear power station that has been supplying 3% of the country’s electricity for a decade.

African beauty – South African coal power plant in Soweto providing power for the city of Johannesburg.