Electric Mountain

Elidir mountain hosts an engineering miracle: Dinorwig Power Station, built in the disused Dinorwig Slate Quarry.

Acclaimed as a pioneering engineering and environmental success story, Dinorwig Power Station sits within the mountain, Elidir, previously the site of the Dinorwig Slate Quarry. It took almost 10 years to complete the project which involved the building of 10 miles of tunnels, the removal of 12 million tonnes of slate, the pouring of 1 million tonnes of concrete and the use of 4,500 tonnes of steel.

"The Nation's pacemaker has been fitted, the patient is unscarred, Snowdonia is as beautiful as ever." So concludes Ian Wooldridge, narrating the story of the creation of the Dinorwig Pumped Storage Station. The decision to site the station in Elidir has reversed the mountain's fortunes. Once, the slate quarried from its sides (of which there are stunning low aerial shots) provided prosperity for the inhabitants of Llanberis and Dinorwig but the advent of synthetic materials meant the quarries fell into disuse and unemployment followed. Now, the Dinorwig station has provided training and work for large numbers of local people whilst ensuring that the environment has been protected or restored.