INTHEBLACK July 2025 - Magazine - Page 25
Finding inventive ways to
repurpose 6500 coal-fired
power stations globally is
an increasingly pressing issue.
Outstanding examples of
reimagined power stations
exist, although use is
contingent on the location
and existing infrastructure.
stations still operating around the world
and the phase-out of coal escalating
in advanced economies, decisions on
the future of these once-essential assets
are now pending.
The list of iconic examples for the adaptive
use of former coal-fired power stations
is growing. One of the most celebrated
is London’s Battersea Power Station, which
reopened in 2022 almost 40 years after its
closure. Today, thanks to Malaysian investors
and a decade-long effort, it is a vibrant
shopping and leisure complex, with large
areas of the surrounding 17-hectare site
The creation of a masterplan
for a site's next life ideally
runs in tandem with
decommissioning and
rehabilitation requirements.
still under development. Further up the
Thames, the city’s famous Tate Modern
art gallery occupies the repurposed
Bankside Power Station.
On Singapore’s harbourfront,
St James Power Station is now the global
HQ for household appliance maker Dyson,
while plans linger for the transformation
of the city-state’s Pasir Panjang Power
Station as part of the Greater Southern
Waterfront development.
Australia has stellar examples in
the Brisbane Powerhouse, now a cultural
centre, and Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum,
intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au 25
