Background Info:
Zemlyane power station is a gas-fired cogeneration plant, located in the "Lagera" district of Sofia, and is owned by the largest and oldest district heating network in the country "Toplofikatsiya Sofia". Constructed in 1972, Zemlyane has a heat energy capacity of 580MW. The site includes two chimneys, one standing at 120m (393ft) and the other at 150m (492ft), with its largest now no longer connected to the boiler house. According to a report from the Bulgarian Ministry of Energy in 2016, the site is no longer an object of national importance, with all further progression with the Zemlyane plant stopped, its 54MW gross capacity is said to of been shelved.
Zemlyane (pre-closure) -
The journey began:
It had gotten to the third day of our trip, and myself and @James Cross decided we'd try and shoot for one of the chimneys we'd seen whilst on our wanders in the capital.
We noticed the obvious lack of any smoke being emitted from the flumes of this particular site, unlike another we'd tried the previous night. This alone was enough to give us the confidence to at least take the journey up there.
We began by scouting the site by daylight, just to assess the likelihood of pulling it off later in the evening, and much to our surprise, entry was nowhere near as much hassle as we'd bargained on.
Approaching the chimneys -
It was fortunate we'd decided to firstly go by daylight, as the plan we'd devised would've been much harder to navigate had we seen it for the first time at night.
So, after an hour or so of discussing and finalising a route, it was time to get a few hours kip, and return under cover of darkness...
Later that night -
Fortunately for us, the larger of the two chimneys was also the closest to the fence, and so of course, this became our target.
We'd laid low in the long grass for what must've been over an hour, despite the bitterly cold conditions, wind levels were at a minimum, making it ideal for the 150-metre climb on the chimney's rather precarious-looking exterior ladders. It was fortunate I'd listed to @James Cross advice and held on waiting for an extra half hour, as security suddenly beamed a floodlight up the chimney's ladder, searching for what we assumed might've been possible base-jumpers.
Now, with another 45mins having gone past, security seemed to of retreated, and so we decided to make a run to the base, following the route we'd found earlier on. Negotiating our way around numerous mounds of scrap metal and debris.
The hardest part was free climbing which must've been roughly 8 metres to the first platform, using just a lightning cable, hence why all photos were taken using my phone, as we wanted to minimise carrying any unnecessary weight.
So forgive me if the following photos aren't quite up to my usual standard.
40mins or so later, and after many breaks, we'd reached the top!
Admittedly, the shots would've been a whole lot cleaner had of I lugged my DSLR and tripod along, but for the sake of the extra weight, I think it was worthwhile using just my phone camera.
We spent roughly an hour or so taking in the view, recovering and monitoring the site below for signs of activity. It was a very surreal feeling to sit 150 metres on a somewhat rickety platform, and so we decided not to overstay our welcome.
Having now taken what photos we could, it was time for the descent, which fortunately only took half as long as the climb up, and with a clean break back out to the main road, the night had come to a successful ending...
All in all, for my first bit of euro industry, it was a good crack!
Hope you enjoyed -
Zemlyane power station is a gas-fired cogeneration plant, located in the "Lagera" district of Sofia, and is owned by the largest and oldest district heating network in the country "Toplofikatsiya Sofia". Constructed in 1972, Zemlyane has a heat energy capacity of 580MW. The site includes two chimneys, one standing at 120m (393ft) and the other at 150m (492ft), with its largest now no longer connected to the boiler house. According to a report from the Bulgarian Ministry of Energy in 2016, the site is no longer an object of national importance, with all further progression with the Zemlyane plant stopped, its 54MW gross capacity is said to of been shelved.
Zemlyane (pre-closure) -
The journey began:
It had gotten to the third day of our trip, and myself and @James Cross decided we'd try and shoot for one of the chimneys we'd seen whilst on our wanders in the capital.
We noticed the obvious lack of any smoke being emitted from the flumes of this particular site, unlike another we'd tried the previous night. This alone was enough to give us the confidence to at least take the journey up there.
We began by scouting the site by daylight, just to assess the likelihood of pulling it off later in the evening, and much to our surprise, entry was nowhere near as much hassle as we'd bargained on.
Approaching the chimneys -
It was fortunate we'd decided to firstly go by daylight, as the plan we'd devised would've been much harder to navigate had we seen it for the first time at night.
So, after an hour or so of discussing and finalising a route, it was time to get a few hours kip, and return under cover of darkness...
Later that night -
Fortunately for us, the larger of the two chimneys was also the closest to the fence, and so of course, this became our target.
We'd laid low in the long grass for what must've been over an hour, despite the bitterly cold conditions, wind levels were at a minimum, making it ideal for the 150-metre climb on the chimney's rather precarious-looking exterior ladders. It was fortunate I'd listed to @James Cross advice and held on waiting for an extra half hour, as security suddenly beamed a floodlight up the chimney's ladder, searching for what we assumed might've been possible base-jumpers.
Now, with another 45mins having gone past, security seemed to of retreated, and so we decided to make a run to the base, following the route we'd found earlier on. Negotiating our way around numerous mounds of scrap metal and debris.
The hardest part was free climbing which must've been roughly 8 metres to the first platform, using just a lightning cable, hence why all photos were taken using my phone, as we wanted to minimise carrying any unnecessary weight.
So forgive me if the following photos aren't quite up to my usual standard.
40mins or so later, and after many breaks, we'd reached the top!
Admittedly, the shots would've been a whole lot cleaner had of I lugged my DSLR and tripod along, but for the sake of the extra weight, I think it was worthwhile using just my phone camera.
We spent roughly an hour or so taking in the view, recovering and monitoring the site below for signs of activity. It was a very surreal feeling to sit 150 metres on a somewhat rickety platform, and so we decided not to overstay our welcome.
Having now taken what photos we could, it was time for the descent, which fortunately only took half as long as the climb up, and with a clean break back out to the main road, the night had come to a successful ending...
All in all, for my first bit of euro industry, it was a good crack!
Hope you enjoyed -
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