The Tallinn Power Plant ( et, Tallinna elektrijaam) is a former

power plant A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many pow ...

located in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

. Construction of the power plant was initiated by Volta company and it was decided by the

Tallinn City Council Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ''m ...

in 1912 after the work of special committee established in 1909. The plant was located next to the Tallinn Gas Factory at the location of the former Stuart fortress. The plant was designed by Volta and the architect was Hans Schmidt. Originally it used three Laval-type

steam turbine A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...

s and three

electric generator In electricity generation, a generator is a device that converts motive power (mechanical energy) or fuel-based power (chemical energy) into electric power for use in an external circuit. Sources of mechanical energy include steam turbines, gas ...

s—all produced by Volta. Two coal-fired

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, central h ...

s were manufactured by AS Franz Krull. The power plant was opened on 24 March 1913, and originally it was fired by

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

. In 1919–1920 the plant was expanded and transferred to

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...

and wood. In 1924 the power plant was switched to

oil shale Oil shale is an organic-rich fine-grained sedimentary rock containing kerogen (a solid mixture of organic chemical compounds) from which liquid hydrocarbons can be produced. In addition to kerogen, general composition of oil shales constitute ...

. It was the first power plant in the world to employ oil shale as its primary fuel. In 1939, the plant achieved capacity of 22 MW. In 1929, a new turbine hall and in 1932 a new switchboard were commissioned. In 1941, the power plant was destroyed by leaving Soviet troops but was restored by 1948. A new

flue-gas stack A flue-gas stack, also known as a smoke stack, chimney stack or simply as a stack, is a type of chimney, a vertical pipe, channel or similar structure through which combustion product gases called flue gases are exhausted to the outside air. Flue g ...

was built. On 9 October 1959, the plant started to operate as

combined heat and power plant Cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP) is the use of a heat engine or power station to generate electricity and useful heat at the same time. Cogeneration is a more efficient use of fuel or heat, because otherwise- wasted heat from elect ...

providing district heating to Tallinn. In 1965, the plant was switched to

fuel oil Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil, marine fuel oil (MFO), bun ...

. The plant ceased electricity production on 2 February 1979. In 1978, the power plant area was used for the

Andrei Tarkovsky Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky ( rus, Андрей Арсеньевич Тарковский, p=ɐnˈdrʲej ɐrˈsʲenʲjɪvʲɪtɕ tɐrˈkofskʲɪj; 4 April 1932 – 29 December 1986) was a Russian filmmaker. Widely considered one of the greates ...

's film

Stalker Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitoring them. The term ...

as the threshold to the Zone. The UN's acronym, which is still visible, was painted on the power plant's flue-gas stack. A memorial plate of the film was set up on the flue-gas stack in 2008. Since 1984, the former power plant boiler house is used as an energy museum. Since 2011, the power plant complex is used for hosting the Tallinn Creative Hub ('' Kultuurikatel'').

Gallery

File:Tallinna Elektrijaama ja gaasijaama 20110424 03.jpg,

Gasometer A gas holder or gasholder, also known as a gasometer, is a large container in which natural gas or town gas is stored near atmospheric pressure at ambient temperatures. The volume of the container follows the quantity of stored gas, with pressu ...

File:Katlad HR5.jpg, Inside view of the boilerroom. File:Estakaad seest.jpg, Estacade

References

{{Reflist, 33em Energy infrastructure completed in 1913 Energy infrastructure completed in 1920 Oil shale-fired power stations in Estonia Cogeneration power stations in Estonia Coal-fired power stations in Estonia Peat-fired power stations in Estonia Biofuel power stations in Estonia Oil-fired power stations in Estonia Former power stations in Estonia Economy of Tallinn History of Tallinn Buildings and structures in Tallinn 1913 establishments in the Russian Empire

Gallery

See also

References