Power plants and electricity

At the beginning of the twentieth century, electric power experienced its breakthrough. During the Brussels World Exhibition of 1910 and the Ghent World Exhibition of 1913, electric lighting left visitors in awe. Electricity also played a starring role at the Universal Exhibition of Charleroi.

In the early twentieth century, Ghent, Belgium, made a massive switch to electric power for trams, street lighting, and harbour cranes. To meet the growing demand, the city commissioned the construction of coal-fired power stations.

In 1973, the foundation stone of the nuclear power plant of the future was laid in Kalkar, Germany. However, power was never produced there. Where did it go wrong?

In 1967, Ghent's municipal electric power plant was expanded with a brand-new building that housed three giant diesel engines.

Transfo Zwevegem, Zwevegem's old power station, has been generating steam and electricity in the region since 1911. The power station is now repurposed.

Izegem in West Flanders was one of the first Flemish municipalities to develop its own power station in 1900. As a result, the largest preserved steam engine in Belgium is located there.

Brick transformer houses sprang up like mushrooms over the twentieth century in Belgium to supply every corner of the country with electricity.