The Rossdale Power Plant is considered a key industrial heritage site in Edmonton. Once a significant producer of electricity for the city, its design was crafted by Maxwell Dewar. The plant remains one of the oldest examples of mid-20th-century industrial design in Alberta. Learn more about its construction and fascinating history in this article on edmonton.name.
The History of Its Creation
Electricity was first produced in Edmonton in 1902, even before Alberta joined the Confederation. The plant was initially owned by Alex Taylor but was later purchased by the Edmonton city council for $13,000. At that time, this was the only electrical facility in Edmonton, generating a quarter of Alberta’s electricity.
In the 1930s, as the city expanded and immigrants arrived, the demand for electricity grew. The city council decided to build a low-pressure plant to meet the city’s increasing needs. Maxwell Dewar, who later became Edmonton’s city architect, designed parts of the facility, ensuring it had an aesthetically pleasing architectural style. The low-pressure plant included the following components:
- A two-story hall connected to the machine room.
- A machine room, 11 meters high, with a reinforced concrete foundation supporting the turbines that generated electricity.
- A boiler room, the largest component of the structure, featuring a steel industrial frame supporting the boilers.
Initially, the boilers operated on coal delivered to the plant via railroads connecting Edmonton to Yukon and the Pacific Railway. In 1955, the plant transitioned to using natural gas.
Pump House #1 was located south of the low-pressure plant and housed original equipment. This development marked the first project of John Paul, a future Edmonton businessman.
Pump House #2 was situated along the North Saskatchewan River, between the low-pressure plant and Walterdale Bridge, and was constructed in 1955. It included a small control room.
In 2001, Alberta’s provincial government designated the low-pressure plant and Pump House #1 as historical resources. These buildings, along with Pump House #2, are also listed in Edmonton’s municipal heritage inventory.
The plant ceased electricity production in 2008 and was fully decommissioned in 2012.
In 2013, Edmonton’s city council unanimously approved a $3 million investment to rehabilitate the plant, aiming to restore its power supply within ten years. A feasibility study commissioned by the city estimated that $87 million would be needed to modernize the facility.
By September 2019, the city government had approved a redevelopment plan for the Rossdale district, which included restoring and utilizing the Rossdale Power Plant.
Interesting Facts
- The low-pressure plant was built west of what is believed to be the site of Fort Edmonton.
- Part of the low-pressure plant was constructed during the Great Depression to provide jobs and protect the city.
- Much of the coal burned at the plant during its operation was mined in the North Saskatchewan River Valley.
- At its peak, the plant’s capacity grew from an initial 25 megawatts to 390 megawatts.
- Some turbine installation parts were lost at sea when the ship transporting them from England was sunk.
- When the plant first began operating, it had five chimneys. At its peak, there were seven.