New Urban Relics
februari 13, 2026
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In urbex circles, Powerplant IM and Cooling Tower IM are often considered two separate locations. Originally, of course, they formed a single entity. The former Monceau-sur-Sambre power plant was built in 1921. The machine buildings were constructed along the left bank of the Sambre. The cooling tower is located along the right bank.
The power plant initially ran on pulverized coal. As energy demand rose, capacity was systematically increased. Consequently, from the 1970s onwards, it was also powered by natural gas. By the late 1970s, this plant was the primary electricity supplier in the Charleroi region. However, the plant, which had by then reached a capacity of 92 MegaWatts, also proved to be a major polluter. It was responsible for no less than a tenth of carbon dioxide emissions in Belgium. The news was followed by fierce protests from Greenpeace. Consequently, production was halted in 2007.
An important part of the Monceau power plant, was this huge concrete structure was. The hot water generated inside the plant was diverted to the cooling tower, where it was cooled by the wind drawn in along the base of the tower. The heated air escaped as steam along the top of the tower. The tower could cool up to 1.8 million liters of water per minute.
This part of the site was one of the first locations I visited as a budding urban explorer. Even though these photos are from a later visit, I still vividly remember the overwhelming impression this structure made on me. During that first visit, the grate had not yet been placed over the central hopper. That was only installed as a result of the filming for the Belgian thriller 'De Premier' (2016). This film, directed by Erik Van Looy and starring Koen De Bouw in the title role, was partly filmed here.
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