Cwm Dyli
Encyclopedia
Cwm Dyli is the location of a hydro-electric power station
on the southern flank of the Snowdon
range in North Wales
. The station was built in 1905 by the Porthmadog, Beddgelert and South Snowdon Railway company, backed by North Wales Power and Traction Co Ltd to supply electricity to its own electric railway and connected slate quarries and mines
. The railway was planned to run through the same valley as the power station and be fed with an electrical feeder, but ran short of funds and the attempt was abandoned.
Electricity produced here was also used to power the Long Wave
Wireless Telegraph
transmitting station built by Marconi
in 1912 near Waunfawr
.
Supplying power directly to the National Grid, it is Britain's oldest power station, and is believed to be one of the oldest Grid-connected hydro-electric stations in the world. It was first commissioned in 1906 and has been in fairly continuous operation since then, although it was closed for upgrading in 1990. A single turbine now produces up to 9.8 megawatts.
Known locally as the "Chapel in the valley", on account of its exterior design, it employed 13 men. Today, however, it is controlled remotely from Dolgarrog
in the Conwy valley.
Water for the site primarily comes from Llyn Llydaw
, some 320 metres above the power station, where rainfall is very high. The water is carried from the lake through a two kilometre pipeline.
The pipeline featured in the James Bond
film The World Is Not Enough
.
Power station
A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....
on the southern flank of the Snowdon
Snowdon
Snowdon is the highest mountain in Wales, at an altitude of above sea level, and the highest point in the British Isles outside Scotland. It is located in Snowdonia National Park in Gwynedd, and has been described as "probably the busiest mountain in Britain"...
range in North Wales
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
. The station was built in 1905 by the Porthmadog, Beddgelert and South Snowdon Railway company, backed by North Wales Power and Traction Co Ltd to supply electricity to its own electric railway and connected slate quarries and mines
Slate industry in Wales
The slate industry in Wales began during the Roman period when slate was used to roof the fort at Segontium, now Caernarfon. The slate industry grew slowly until the early 18th century, then expanded rapidly until the late 19th century, at which time the most important slate producing areas were in...
. The railway was planned to run through the same valley as the power station and be fed with an electrical feeder, but ran short of funds and the attempt was abandoned.
Electricity produced here was also used to power the Long Wave
Longwave
In radio, longwave refers to parts of radio spectrum with relatively long wavelengths. The term is a historic one dating from the early 20th century, when the radio spectrum was considered to consist of long, medium and short wavelengths...
Wireless Telegraph
Wireless
Wireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...
transmitting station built by Marconi
Marconi Company
The Marconi Company Ltd. was founded by Guglielmo Marconi in 1897 as The Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company...
in 1912 near Waunfawr
Waunfawr
Waunfawr is a large village on the outskirts of the Snowdonia National Park, Gwynedd, in North Wales, south of Llanrug. Its population is roughly 1,500...
.
Supplying power directly to the National Grid, it is Britain's oldest power station, and is believed to be one of the oldest Grid-connected hydro-electric stations in the world. It was first commissioned in 1906 and has been in fairly continuous operation since then, although it was closed for upgrading in 1990. A single turbine now produces up to 9.8 megawatts.
Known locally as the "Chapel in the valley", on account of its exterior design, it employed 13 men. Today, however, it is controlled remotely from Dolgarrog
Dolgarrog
Dolgarrog is a small village in the Conwy County Borough in North Wales situated between Llanrwst and Conwy, very close to the Conwy River. The village is well known for its industrial history since the 18th century and the Eigiau dam disaster, which occurred in 1925...
in the Conwy valley.
Water for the site primarily comes from Llyn Llydaw
Llyn Llydaw
Llyn Llydaw is a lake in Snowdonia National Park on the flanks of Snowdon, Wales' highest mountain. This long thin lake has formed in a cwm about one-third of the way up the mountain....
, some 320 metres above the power station, where rainfall is very high. The water is carried from the lake through a two kilometre pipeline.
The pipeline featured in the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
film The World Is Not Enough
The World Is Not Enough
The World Is Not Enough is the nineteenth spy film in the James Bond film series, and the third to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was directed by Michael Apted, with the original story and screenplay written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Bruce Feirstein. It...
.