Les Tres Xemeneies: a habitat for marine biodiversity

The industrial complex of Central tèrmica de Sant Adrià de Besòs remains inactive since 2011, with its interior dismantled except for the turbine hall and the three boiler-chimney units. While these structures served as a source of industrial power, the submerged parts of the plant have become a home to over 500 species of marine life. These include sessile organisms like brown and calcareous algae, sponges, hydroids, briozoans, polychaetes, and anemones. Mobile fauna includes starfish, sea urchins, various crustaceans, molluscs, mussels, cuttlefish, and a wide variety of fish species like scorpionfish, rock fish, wrasse, gobies, and parrotfish.

The head of the tubs of refrigeration, made of bloc de formigó, is proposed to be left as an island for marine birds such as the gavina corsa and the corb marí emplomallat. Since 2017, the management of this area has been a collaboration between Endesa, the city councils of Badalona and Sant Adrià, and the Besòs Consortium, which aims to conserve the seabed, improve biodiversity, and promote environmental education.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons