Photo Set

Power Plants

Industrial landmarks documenting the evolution and impact of energy production across regions

Photography from a range of power plants across the United States and Belgium reveals diverse eras and technologies in energy production. From the neon-lit Owatonna plant in Minnesota to the towering hyperboloid cooling towers in Charleroi, Belgium, these images document industrial architecture and its transformation or decline. The collection includes active facilities like Louisiana’s natural gas-fired Ninemile 6 plant and Wisconsin’s Fox Energy Center, as well as decommissioned sites such as the Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plant and the Southeast Steam Plant in Minneapolis, underscoring the evolving landscape of energy infrastructure.

Former Northern States Power steam plant with twin smokestacks stands along the Mississippi River near Red Wing, Minnesota. — *July 4, 2022* — Northern States Power built this steam plant along the Mississippi River in Red Wing, Minnesota, to supply electricity to the regional grid. Completed in the mid-20th century, it burned coal delivered by rail and barge before the company, now Xcel Energy, shifted away from coal-fired generation at the site.

NSP neon sign and industrial smokestacks at a former Northern States Power generating station on Red Wing's Mississippi River waterfront. — *July 4, 2022* — The NSP sign marks the former Northern States Power generating station on the Mississippi River waterfront in Red Wing, Minnesota. Northern States Power built the plant as part of a riverfront industrial corridor that relied on the river for water and shipping access. The company merged with New Century Energies in 2000 to form Xcel Energy, and the old sign remains as a marker of that earlier era.

Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant's two containment domes rise above the Mississippi River near Red Wing, Minnesota. — *July 3, 2022* — Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant sits on an island in the Mississippi River near Red Wing, Minnesota, adjacent to the Prairie Island Indian Community. Xcel Energy operates the station's two pressurized-water reactors, which entered commercial service in 1973 and 1974 and supply electricity to the regional grid. The twin containment domes, built of reinforced concrete, house the reactor systems.

Recreational boats travel on the Mississippi River near Red Wing, Minnesota, with the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant visible across the water at sunset. — *July 3, 2022* — The Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant sits on the Mississippi River near Red Wing, Minnesota, on land within the Prairie Island Indian Community's reservation. Xcel Energy operates the two-reactor plant, which began generating power in the early 1970s and supplies electricity to the Twin Cities region.

People walk and gather on the Stone Arch Bridge spanning the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, with historic brick industrial buildings and mill smokestacks visible in the background. — *June 18, 2022* — The Stone Arch Bridge spans the Mississippi River in downtown Minneapolis, linking the city's east and west banks near St. Anthony Falls. Built in 1883 by railroad magnate James J. Hill for his Great Northern Railway, it was the only span of its kind on the upper Mississippi, built with 23 stone and granite arches to carry trains rather than road traffic. The bridge now serves as a pedestrian and bicycle crossing within the Mississippi Mile trail system.

Hibbing power plant in Minnesota displays multiple industrial smokestacks and yellow corrugated metal buildings under clear blue sky. — *September 26, 2021* — The Hibbing power plant sits on the Iron Range in Hibbing, Minnesota, a region built around iron ore mining since the late nineteenth century. Facilities like this one historically supplied electricity to support local mining operations and the surrounding community. The plant's corrugated metal buildings and multiple exhaust stacks are typical of mid-century industrial power generation design in the region.

University of Minnesota's Main Energy Plant with railroad bridge spanning the Mississippi River on the Minneapolis campus. — *August 8, 2021* — The University of Minnesota's Main Energy Plant stands on the Mississippi River's West Bank, supplying steam and electricity to campus buildings through a district energy system. A railroad bridge crosses the river just beside it, carrying freight traffic through the university area toward downtown Minneapolis.

Riverside Generating Station, a natural gas power plant on Minneapolis's Mississippi River, illuminated at dusk with tall exhaust stacks and transmission towers. — *February 28, 2021* — Riverside Generating Station sits on the Mississippi River in northeast Minneapolis, converted from coal to natural gas in 2009. Xcel Energy operates the plant, which supplies electricity to the Twin Cities regional grid. Transmission towers along the riverbank carry power from the station into the surrounding distribution network.

Steel catwalks, pipes, and ductwork inside Riverside Generating Station, an Xcel Energy power plant in Minneapolis. — *March 10, 2020* — Riverside Generating Station is an Xcel Energy power plant along the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. Built in the early twentieth century as a coal-fired plant, it was later converted to burn natural gas.

Fox Energy Center natural gas power plant viewed from agricultural land near Kaukauna, Wisconsin. — *December 26, 2019* — The Fox Energy Center sits near Kaukauna, Wisconsin, along the Fox River valley. Wisconsin Public Service operates the natural gas-fired plant, which came online in 2005 to serve the utility's northeastern Wisconsin customers.

The Kaukauna City Hydro Plant, operated by Kaukauna Utilities, is located on the Fox River in Kaukauna, Wisconsin. The facility generates renewable hydroelectric power for the community. — *December 26, 2019* — Kaukauna Utilities' Kaukauna City Hydro Plant sits at 601 Thilmany Road along the Fox River in Kaukauna, Wisconsin. The municipal utility uses the river's drop through the city — once a center of papermaking powered by the same waterway — to generate electricity for local distribution.

Entergy Ninemile 6 natural gas power plant illuminated at dusk along a levee trail in Westwego, Louisiana. — *December 8, 2019* — Entergy Ninemile 6 Power Plant in Westwego, Louisiana, is a natural gas-fired generating unit operated by Entergy Corporation. The facility began operation in 2014 and supplies electricity to the New Orleans area.

University of Minnesota’s Southeast Steam Plant 2019 — *September 22, 2019* — The University of Minnesota's Southeast Steam Plant sits along the Mississippi River near the East Bank campus in Minneapolis. Built in the early twentieth century to supply heat and power to the growing university, the plant originally ran on coal before converting to natural gas.

*September 22, 2019* — The University of Minnesota Southeast Steam Plant stands on the east bank of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, adjacent to the St. Anthony Falls hydroelectric facilities near the university’s East Bank campus. Identified by its four tall smokestacks, the plant supplies district steam and other utility services for the university and is part of the institutional infrastructure concentrated along the riverfront. Originally developed as a coal-fired heating plant, the facility was later converted to burn natural gas while remaining in operation as a major campus energy source.

Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plant's turquoise-striped containment dome and cooling structures on Lake Michigan's Wisconsin shoreline. — *July 21, 2019* — Kewaunee Power Station sits on the Lake Michigan shoreline in Carlton, Wisconsin, just south of the town of Kewaunee. The single-unit pressurized water reactor began commercial operation in 1974, built and originally operated by Wisconsin Public Service Corporation. Dominion Energy later took over the plant before its owners shut it down in 2013, citing economics rather than safety concerns. The containment structure, with its rounded dome and reinforced concrete walls, housed the reactor vessel that once generated enough electricity to power hundreds of thousands of homes. In 2022, ownership transferred to NorthStar Group for decommissioning, a process that includes dismantling the reactor systems and eventually restoring the site.

Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plant stands on Lake Michigan shoreline in Wisconsin, permanently closed since 2013. — *July 21, 2019* — Kewaunee Power Station in the Town of Carlton, Wisconsin, stands on the Lake Michigan shoreline southeast of Green Bay. The single-reactor nuclear generating station began commercial operation in 1974 and was the fourth nuclear power plant built in Wisconsin. Dominion Energy permanently shut down the plant on May 7, 2013, citing unfavorable market conditions, including low wholesale electricity prices linked to inexpensive natural gas. By 2019, the reactor and auxiliary buildings remained in place on the 900-acre site as the facility continued through decommissioning.

Steel catwalks and coal hoppers inside the boiler house of the Menasha power plant in Wisconsin. — *December 7, 2018* — This structure is part of a coal-fired power plant located in Menasha, Wisconsin. Large steel hoppers funnel bulk fuel down toward boiler feed equipment on the lower level. Elevated steel catwalks with grated flooring provide operator access across the boiler house for inspection and maintenance. Copper tubing bundles visible along the turquoise-paneled boiler wall are part of the heat-exchange or economizer system. Insulated ductwork and piping route combustion air and process fluids between the boiler and auxiliary equipment throughout the facility.

Insulated steam pipes and red valve wheels inside the Menasha power plant piping system. — *December 7, 2018* — This piping array is located inside the Menasha power plant on the Fox River in Menasha, Wisconsin.

Brick steam plant with a tall spiral-patterned smokestack near the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis. — *August 12, 2018* — The Southeast Steam Plant sits along the Mississippi River near the University of Minnesota's East Bank campus in Minneapolis. It is operated by the university to provide steam heat and electricity to campus buildings.

The Monceau-sur-Sambre cooling tower in Charleroi, Belgium, stands as a relic of the region's industrial past. — *September 28, 2017* — The Monceau-sur-Sambre cooling tower in Charleroi, Belgium, is a 118-meter reinforced-concrete hyperboloid built in the 1960s for the nearby power station. Its flared shell and vertical ribbing were designed to cool large volumes of circulating water used by the generating plant. The associated coal-fired station was taken out of service in the early 2000s, leaving the tower as one of the most prominent surviving industrial structures in the Charleroi area.

The base of a cooling tower at the former Monceau-sur-Sambre power plant in Charleroi, Belgium, is overgrown with vegetation. — *September 28, 2017* — The base of a cooling tower at the former Monceau-sur-Sambre power plant in Charleroi, Belgium, stands amid dense vegetation on the abandoned industrial site. The tower was part of a coal-fired generating station in the Charleroi basin, one of Belgium’s major heavy-industry regions. By 2017, when this view was made, the plant had been closed and the remaining structures formed part of the post-industrial landscape left after the decline of coal-fired power generation in the area.

Industrial pipes and metal staircase at University of Minnesota's Main Energy Plant facility. — *September 10, 2017* — The Main Energy Plant, on the University of Minnesota's Minneapolis campus along the Mississippi River, generates steam and electricity for the Twin Cities campus through a combined heat and power system.

The Hamm's Brewery Power Plant in St. Paul, MN, provided energy for brewing operations and remains a testament to the city's industrial history. — *July 20, 2017* — The Hamm's Brewery Power Plant in St. Paul, Minnesota, was constructed to support the brewing operations of the Theodore Hamm's Brewing Company, founded in 1865.

Granite Falls Power Plant Smoke Stack — *July 9, 2017* — The smoke stack at the now demolished NSP power plant in Granite Falls, Minnesota.

Overhead steel piping fills the multi-level boiler room of the former NSP power plant in Granite Falls, Minnesota. — *July 9, 2017* — This boiler room is part of the former Northern States Power (NSP) generating plant in Granite Falls, Minnesota. Overhead steel pipe runs carried steam and process fluids between boilers, turbines, and auxiliary equipment throughout the structure's multi-level interior. The plant has since been demolished.

The Owatonna Power Plant in Owatonna, Minnesota, is illuminated by a neon sign at dusk. — *May 1, 2016* — The Owatonna Power Plant in Owatonna, Minnesota.

The Xcel Energy District Energy Plant in St. Paul, Minnesota, provides steam for downtown buildings and is a vital part of the city's energy infrastructure. — *June 29, 2015* — The Xcel Energy District Energy Plant in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota, stands along Shepard Road near the Mississippi River. The facility is part of St. Paul’s district energy system, which distributes steam and chilled water to connected buildings in the central business district rather than relying on separate on-site heating and cooling plants.

The Southeast Steam Plant smokestacks in Minneapolis, a former coal-fired power plant, stand against autumn trees. — *October 17, 2014* — The Southeast Steam Plant on 6th Street SE in Minneapolis on the Mississippi riverfront. Built in the early 20th century as a coal-fired generating station, the plant supplied electricity and steam heat and remained part of the city’s utility system for decades.

Power Plants

Minneapolis Photographer