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From the History of Electrification in Estonia: From the First Power Plants to the Present Day

The story of bringing electricity to Estonia began in the mid-19th century with the construction of the first power plants. These plants were mainly built in industrial areas to supply energy to factories. For ordinary citizens, however, electric power was still a distant luxury.

An important milestone in bringing light to Tallinn came in 1883 when engineer Steiner magically transformed the evening darkness of Viru Street into daylight. During this period, power production and distribution were still in its infancy. Cables often ran over rooftops, with power poles were used only when necessary.

In 1907, the city of Pärnu made a significant leap forward by inaugurating the first public power plant, bringing energy to its residents. Inspired by Pärnu’s initiative, Tartu and Tallinn followed suit, establishing their own public power plants in 1913. These key developments marked the beginning of Estonia’s electrification, which gradually extended power throughout the country. The advent of electricity unlocked a wealth of exciting possibilities for both industry and households, paving the way for new and fascinating opportunities for development.

Now, as you walk through the historic streets of the city and admire the old buildings, take a moment to think about how electrical power reached these places and transformed people’s lives.

Tallinn's Major Electrification Project: Establishing a New Power Plant

In 1909, the Tallinn City Council embarked on an ambitious project to build a new power plant on the expense of the city. The site chosen was near the Great Coastal Gate, next to the gas plant. Initially hampered by a lack of funding, the project finally got underway in May 1912 under the direction of architect Hans Schmidt.

Once construction began, it progressed rapidly. By December of the same year, steam boilers were ready for heating, and the installation of the turbo units proceeded smoothly.

While the power plant was being built on Põhja boulevard, cable lines and transformer substations were also being installed throughout the city to bring electricity from the power plant to the people. By the end of 1913, more than 35 kilometres of high and low-voltage cables had been laid—a distance longer than that from Tallinn to Jägala Waterfall or Klooga Beach.

With the advent of electricity, the candles, gas and oil lamps that once provided light gradually fell out of use, ushering in a new era of illumination for the city.

The Triumphs and Challenges of Tallinn's Power Plant: Citizens' Discontent and Solutions

Tallinn’s power plant near the Great Coastal Gate played a crucial role in supplying the city with electricity. However, the power plant wasn’t always a source of joy for the city’s residents. Initially, the plant used coal as fuel until 1918, when it switched to peat and wood.

A few years later, in 1923, the city council ordered the power plant to transition to oil shale fuel. This switch to the use of oil shale caused great frustration among the city’s residents. The metal chimney, built by the Ilmarine factory, was too low, causing smoke and soot to drift into the city. The resulting soot blanketed the city, making it impossible to carry out everyday tasks such as drying clothes in the open air, not to mention other forms of pollution.

To solve this problem, it was necessary to build a much higher chimney, reducing the air pollution in the city.

Development of the power plant continued. In 1929, a new turbine hall was built on Põhja Boulevard as an extension to the existing buildings, followed a few years later, in 1932, by a new switchyard building. By the end of 1937, the length of the power grid had grown to 330 kilometres, almost ten times as much as in the early years. This rapid expansion underlines the remarkable growth and development of the power plant.

Solving the Problems of Oil Shale Ash Burning: Raising the Chimney and Building a Cableway

To solve the problem of soot and ash from burning oil shale, the chimney built by the Ilmarise factory had to be extended from the current 20 metres to 40 metres. This partially solved the smoke and ash issue, but other challenges remained during heating with oil shale.

One major problem was where to dispose of the ash. Compared to previous fuels, burning oil shale produced much more ash, and there was nowhere to put it near the power plant. The solution was to build a 150-metre-long cableway to transport the shale to the boilers and the ash to the sea, carrying up to 60 tonnes of shale per hour.

All sorts of rubbish and soil were dumped into the bay to fill in the shoreline, but the strong autumn winds blew it away, and the water currents pushed it into the harbour mouth, clogging it up. Thus, to prevent clogging, a breakwater over 70 metres long was built at Kalasadam, later extended several times.

In 1948, a 102.5-metre-tall brick chimney was completed on the territory of today’s Creative Hub, becoming the tallest in the Baltic States at the time! Its construction required 800,000 special chimney bricks and 100,000 regular bricks.

The Land Beneath Linnahall and Kultuurikatel Has Been Expanded Using Sea-Deposited Ash

As we already know, the use of oil shale for heating produces a lot of ash. But have you noticed any ash mountains on the territory of the current Creative Hub? Such as those found in Ida-Viru County, where the high ash hills formed from combustion residues have become a unique attraction.

However, you won’t find ash mountains like those in Ida-Viru County here at the Tallinn Power Plant site. The reason for this is that the ash was not piled up around the buildings but was transported behind the building, to the site of today’s City Hall, and from there further into the sea. Large wagonettes were taken by cableway to the shore, where they were manually tipped over and emptied. This was a very difficult task because the ashes in the wagonettes had not yet cooled down.

By dumping the ashes in the sea, the land area of Tallinn increased, and another interesting fact is that the City Hall was built specifically on the ashes dumped in the sea.

Another cool story from the 1950s. As we all know, the sea water is cold in winter in Estonia. But in this bay people could swim even in wintertime. The reason for that was very simple. Namely, the warm water from the generators’ cooling was directed into the bay behind the building, so you could enjoy swimming even in cold weather.

Of course, this privilege was only available to a select few, as the power plant territory was closed to the general public.

Historic Kalarand: Stuart Redoubt and the Establishment of a Gas Factory

The first major structure in the historic Kalarand was the Stjuart’s Redoubt, erected during the Great Northern War in 1703. A redoubt is a closed, polygonal earth-filled fortress, which can be defended independently. It had high limestone walls and a pointed end facing the sea. The fortress was part of the Old Town’s defensive structures and was last battle-ready during the Crimean War. In the latter half of the 19th century, the redoubt no longer had military use and was transformed into a bathing establishment, as bathing culture was becoming popular both as entertainment and a method of therapy. The bathing establishment operated in the redoubt until the end of the 19th century.

In 1865, a gasworks was established on the narrow strip of shoreline between the sea and the redoubt, producing gas from English coal to light the streets of Tallinn. The gasworks’ buildings, including the Neo-Romanesque style single-story office-residential building, an octagonal gas holder, and other structures, were designed by the renowned architect Rudolf Otto von Knyppfer.

The gasworks was expanded until the power plant was completed. In 1877, a second gas holder was built, and in the early 20th century, a second floor was added to the still-existing office building. Gas production at the Tallinn gasworks continued until 1956.

The Beginning of Tallinn's Energy Management: Establishing and Modernizing the City Power Plant

At the end of the 19th century, during the rapid development of the energy sector, several major industries in Tallinn built their own power plants. These plants supplied electricity not only to their factories but also, when necessary, to the surrounding area.

By the early 20th century, the Tallinn City Council realised that establishing a public power plant to illuminate the city and support the growing industry was inevitable.

The final decision to establish a central power plant was made by the city council in 1909, choosing a large plot next to the gas factory as the location. The main advantage of this plot was its proximity to the port, ensuring the quick and easy transport of coal to the plant.

The city council approved the construction of the plant in 1911, and the buildings were designed by architect Hans Schmidt from St. Petersburg in the same year. The machine hall and office building, completed in 1912, featured striking high mansard roofs in the late Art Nouveau style, along with the boiler house and brick chimney behind them.

The power plant equipment was installed by the joint-stock company Volta, and the two boilers were provided by the Franz Krull Machinebuilding Factory. The Central Power Plant of Tallinn City started operating on 11 March 1913 according to the old calendar.

This marked a significant step in the modernization of the city and laid the foundation for Tallinn’s energy industry.

Rapid Growth of Tallinn's Power Plant: Expansion and Modernization in the 1920s

As soon as the power plant began operating, it became evident that the demand for electricity far exceeded the plant’s production capacity. Thus, plans were made to expand the plant. However, due to the challenging period following World War I and the War of Independence, the reconstruction of the boiler house and the modernization of the equipment were only completed many years later.

In 1927, the director of the power plant, Aleksander Markson, proposed to the city council the expansion of the plant to meet the ever-growing demand. The following year, renowned architect Eugen Habermann designed an extension to the machine hall and a connecting four-story switchyard building. These buildings, completed two years later, are in the functionalist style but clearly exhibit expressionist influences.

To facilitate the use of the overhead crane connecting the buildings, the height of the new machine hall extension was carefully adjusted to match the existing structure’s ceiling. The floor of the new building was one and a half meters lower than that of the old one, and a six-meter-deep basement was built to house powerful condensing units. The control panel was installed at the junction of the machine hall and the switchyard building.

The expansion of the power plant played a crucial role in the city’s evolution into a modern and progressive urban centre. These buildings remain pivotal in shaping the city’s technological and architectural landscape.

From the Fuel Crisis to the Oil Shale Era in Tallinn's Power Plant: From Coal to Local Oil Shale

Initially, the power plant’s, boilers were fired with coal. However, during World War I and the War of Independence, coal imports were interrupted, leading to a fuel crisis at the plant. Peat and wood, had to be used for heating during this period.

In 1923, the city council decided to address the fuel shortage problem by using domestic oil shale, which had only been industrially mined for a few years. The transition to this new fuel was challenging due to the lack of experience in using it in large boilers.

For oil shale heating, the English firm Babcock and Wilcox built two new boilers, while suitable hearths were manufactured by the Ilmarine mechanical engineering factory. The hearths required upgrading, and the chimney had to be raised to reduce the thick black smoke emitted from burning oil shale over the city.

The full transition to the new fuel heating was completed in 1925 with the installation of a cableway for ash transport to Kalaranna and a railway for shale transport to the boiler house.

In 1926, a warehouse for storing oil shale was built alongside the coastal railway track. It was designed by Eugen Habermann in an archaic basilica style using concrete blocks and a reinforced concrete frame.

Estonian oil shale was used for heating the power plant for the next 40 years, demonstrating Tallinn’s ability to adapt to changing circumstances whenever needed.

Rapid Development of Tallinn's Electric Integration: Boiler House Expansions and New Technologies in the 1930s

In the 1930s, electricity became a daily convenience for the residents of Tallinn, both at work and at home. Electric lighting and radios had become standard, while electric refrigerators and stoves were increasingly common in modern households.
The unstoppable growth in electricity consumption has pressured the city council to expand the power plant once again.

Though planned, as an extension, the new boiler house was designed to be much larger. In 1932, architects Eugen Habermann, Herbert Johanson, and engineer Ferdinand Adoff designed a functionalist-style boiler house, which remains one of the most remarkable examples of Estonian limestone functionalism to this day.

The building, completed in 1934, features fuel bunkers, limestone exterior walls, reinforced concrete floors, and an iron-trussed roof.

The Ilmarine mechanical engineering factory constructed specialized hearths for the new boilers, and a 75-meter iron chimney was erected next to the new boiler house. In 1938, the most powerful turbogenerator ever, with a capacity of 10 MW, was installed in the machine hall.

In the summer of 1940, as the Soviet occupation began, the power plant management proposed a decade-long expansion of the machine and boiler houses to the city council.

We can only imagine how rapidly electricity would have integrated into city life if the wars of the early twentieth century had not impeded development.

Restoration and Expansion of the Power Plant After the War: New Boiler Houses and a 100-Meter Chimney

In autumn 1941, the retreating Red Army destroyed much of the power plant, including the old machine room, boiler house, and brick chimney, which were never rebuilt. Today, only the office building facing the street remains from the original power plant complex.

After the war, reconstruction of the power plant began, along with plans for its expansion.
In 1945, architect Ilmar Laasi and engineer Arvet Müürisepp designed an extension with two new boilers. The outer walls, made of cleanly laid limestone, echoed the original boiler house but were clearly distinguishable. The construction of the 100-metre-high chimney with powerful flues and the new boiler house was completed in 1948.

In 1955, a high-voltage substation and main switchyard building were added as an extension to the Põhja Boulevard complex.

The main facade of the substation follows the rhythm of the windows designed by architect Habermann, as well as the building’s triangular pilasters and plinth level niches, blending the Stalinist extension with the functionalist machine hall and switchyard building. The new machine hall’s facade also mirrors the 1930s design, maintaining a unified street appearance.

The reconstruction revitalized the Tallinn power plant, securing electricity supply. Today, these structures stand as a testament to the city’s resilience after the war.

Endgame of Tallinn's Power Plant: Transition to Fuel Oil and Cessation of Electricity Production

In 1951, the plant received a significant upgrade with a new hydraulic ash removal system. Three years later, a trestle with a conveyor belt and a loading station was built to transport oil shale. In 1961, the old, disused cableway was demolished due to restructuring.

The renovations sadly didn’t last long. A major change occurred in 1965 when coal was replaced with fuel oil, finally putting an end to the black smoke cloud over Tallinn. The 75-meter metal chimney from the republican era was dismantled in 1962.

As early as 1946, plans were made to adapt the plant for both district heating and electricity production. Construction of the district heating grid in the city centre began in 1957, and in the same year, the power plant was renamed the Tallinn Heat and Power Plant.

In 1959, after the commissioning of the first unit at the Balti Power Plant near Narva, the output of the Tallinn power plant began to decline, leading to the cessation of electricity production in 1979.

This marked the conclusion of a long and eventful chapter in Estonia’s electricity history.