Cwm Dyli

Last updated
Cwm Dyli hydro-electric power station
Cwmdylipowerstation.JPG
Wales relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Location of Cwm Dyli hydro-electric power station in Wales
LocationCwm Dyli, Wales
Coordinates 53°03′57″N4°00′41″W / 53.0659°N 4.0115°W / 53.0659; -4.0115
Opening date1905
Reservoir
CreatesLlyn Llydaw
Power Station
Installed capacity 9.8 MW

Cwm Dyli is the location of a hydro-electric power station on the southern flank of the Snowdon range in North Wales. At the time it was built, it was the largest hydro-electric power station in the United Kingdom. It is Britain's oldest power station, and is believed to be one of the oldest Grid-connected hydro-electric stations in the world.

Contents

History

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 the enterprise ran short of funds and the attempt was abandoned. [1] The company was renamed the North Wales Power Company Limited. [2]

In August 1906, power from Cwm Dyli was used to power the Oakeley Quarry in Blaenau Ffestiniog carried over the Crimea Pass by a long overhead transmission line at 10,000 volts. It also supplied Dinorwic and Pen-yr-Orsedd quarries. Cwm Dyli was claimed to be the largest electricity generating plant of its kind in Great Britain at the time. [3]

Electricity produced here was also used to power the Carnarvon Long Wave Wireless Telegraph transmitting station built by Marconi in 1913–14 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 (MW).

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 tunnel and two 30-inch (0.762 m) diameter, 2-kilometre (1.2 mi) long pipelines. [4]

The pipeline featured in the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough .

Technical details

The generating equipment at Cwm Dyli up to 1989 comprised: [4]

The four wheels drove:

The total electricity generating capacity was 6.5 MW, at 10 kV.

The following graph shows the annual electricity output in MWh from Cwm Dyli between 1921 and 1986: [4] [5] [6] [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

The Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) was responsible for electricity generation, transmission and bulk sales in England and Wales from 1958 until privatisation of the electricity industry in the 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Llyn Cowlyd</span> Natural lake, reservoir in Snowdonia National Park, Wales

Llyn Cowlyd is the deepest lake in northern Wales. It lies in the Snowdonia National Park at the upper end of Cwm Cowlyd on the south-eastern edge of the Carneddau range of mountains, at a height of 330 metres (1,083 ft) above sea level. The lake is long and narrow, measuring nearly 3 kilometres (2 mi) long and about 500 m wide, and covers an area of 1.1 square kilometres. It has a mean depth of 33 metres (108 ft) and at its deepest has given soundings of 70 metres (230 ft), this being some 14 m (46 ft) greater than its natural depth, the water surface having been raised twice by the building of dams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aberthaw power stations</span> Two decommissioned power stations in Wales

Aberthaw Power Station refers to two decommissioned coal-fired and co-fired biomass power stations on the coast of South Wales, near Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan. They were located at Limpert Bay, near the villages of Gileston and West Aberthaw. The most recent power station on the site, Aberthaw B Power Station, co-fired biomass and as of 2008 had a generating capacity of 1,560 megawatts (MW). The power station closed on 31 March 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ffestiniog Power Station</span> Dam in Ffestiniog, Gwynedd

The Ffestiniog Power Station is a 360-megawatt (MW) pumped-storage hydroelectricity scheme near Ffestiniog, in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. The power station at the lower reservoir has four water turbines, which can generate at full capacity within 60 seconds of the need arising. The scheme has a storage capacity of around 1.44 GWh (5.2 TJ) at maximum output for four hours, and the capacity to power the whole of North Wales for several hours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Barford Power Station</span>

Little Barford Power Station is a gas-fired power station just north of the village of Little Barford in Bedfordshire, England. It lies just south of the A428 St Neots bypass and east of the Wyboston Leisure Park. The River Great Ouse runs alongside. It was formerly the site of two coal-fired power stations, now demolished. The station is operated by RWE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Yarmouth Power Station</span> Gas power station in Norfolk, England

Great Yarmouth Power Station is combined cycle gas turbine power station on South Denes Road in Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England, with a maximum output of 420 MW electricity, opened in 2001. It is built on the site of an oil-fired power station, built in 1958 and closed and demolished in the 1990s. A coal-fired power station was built in Great Yarmouth in 1894 and operated until 1961. The station is operated by RWE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Staythorpe Power Station</span> Gas-fired power station in Nottinghamshire, England

Staythorpe C Power Station is a 1,735 MWe gas-fired power station at Staythorpe between Southwell and Newark-on-Trent in Nottinghamshire, England, between the River Trent and Nottingham to Lincoln railway line. The station was handed over to the owner RWE from Alstom Power with full commercial operation being achieved in December 2010. The official opening ceremony attended by Charles Hendry, Minister of State took place on 9 May 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tilbury power stations</span> Thermal power stations in Essex, England

The Tilbury power stations were two thermal power stations on the north bank of the River Thames at Tilbury in Essex. The 360 MW dual coal- and oil-fired Tilbury A Power Station operated from 1956 until 1981 when it was mothballed, prior to demolition in 1999. The 1,428 MW Tilbury B Power Station operated between 1968 and 2013 and was fueled by coal, as well as co-firing with oil and, from 2011, biomass. Tilbury B was demolished in 2016–19. Since 2013 three other power stations have been proposed or constructed in Tilbury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doncaster Power Station</span>

Doncaster Power Station refers to two coal-fired electricity generating stations situated in the centre of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. Doncaster A provided electricity to the town from 1900 to 1958, and the B station from 1953 to 1983.

Carmarthen Bay Power Station was an electricity power plant on the north shore of the Burry estuary in Wales in operation from 1953 to 1984.

Southampton Power Station was a coal fired power station built by Southampton Corporation that operated between 1904 and 1977.

Ribble Power Station was a coal-fired electricity generating station on the River Ribble in Penwortham near Preston, Lancashire, England. The station was built by the Corporation of Preston to replace a small privately-run generating station in the town. It supplied electricity to Preston and the surrounding area from 1923 until 1976. The station was expanded with new equipment in 1943–47 which remained in operation until the power station was closed in 1976 and was subsequently demolished.

The Lancaster power stations provided electricity to the Lancashire town and city of Lancaster and the surrounding area from 1894 to 1976. The first power station was built and operated by Lancaster Corporation and started generating electricity in April 1894. The second power station was built during the First World War near the Lune Aqueduct to provide electric power for a munitions factory. When the factory closed after the war the power station was purchased by the corporation to provide electric power throughout its supply area.

The Thornhill power station generated and supplied electricity to the town of Dewsbury and the wider regional area from 1902 to 1982, and again from 1998. The first generating station on the site was owned and operated by the Yorkshire Electric Power Company. Following nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948 Thornhill power station was operated by a succession of state owned bodies. The power station was redeveloped with new plant in 1915, 1925, 1932–37 and 1950–54. The coal-fired steam station was decommissioned in 1982, and was subsequently demolished. A gas turbine power station on the site was commissioned in 1998.

Barrow-in-Furness power station supplied electricity to the town of Barrow-in-Furness and the wider area of Lancashire, England from 1899 to about 1960. It was owned and operated by Barrow-in-Furness Corporation until the nationalisation of the UK electricity supply industry in 1948. The power station was redeveloped throughout its operational life. Barrow-in-Furness Corporation also operated Coniston hydro-electric power station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dolgarrog power station</span> Power station in Wales

Dolgarrog Power Station in Dolgarrog, Wales was originally built in 1907 as part of an aluminium smelting plant. It uses water turbines to drive electricity alternators. Public supplies began in 1922 when power lines were constructed to transmit electricity from the power station to Colwyn Bay, Conwy and Llandudno. The station was vested in the British Electricity Authority and its successors following nationalisation in 1948. It is currently (2021) operated by RWE NPower UK.

Maentwrog power station was built by the North Wales Power Company and supplied electricity to North Wales, Deeside and Cheshire. It exploits the water resources of the Snowdonia mountains, using water turbines to drive electricity alternators. The 24 MW station has been owned by several organisations; since 2004 it has been owned by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. It generates an annual electricity output of 60.6 GWh.

Machynlleth power stations were two small electricity generating stations in Machynlleth Powys. They provided electricity to the town and the surrounding rural district from 1938 until the 1970s. The A station was a combined diesel & hydro-electric plant and the B station was a diesel engine plant.

Stockport power station supplied electricity to the town of Stockport, Cheshire and the surrounding area from 1899 to 1976. The power station was owned and operated by Stockport Corporation prior to the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948. It was redeveloped several times to meet the increased demand for electricity.

The North Wales and South Cheshire Joint Electricity Authority supplied electricity to an extensive area of North Wales and parts of Cheshire and Shropshire. As constituted in 1923 the Joint Authority transferred all its rights to distribution of electricity in the area to the North Wales Power Company. The authority was effectively the power company. Both the joint authority and the power company were abolished in 1948 upon the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry.

References

  1. Johnson, Peter (2002). An Illustrated History of the Welsh Highland Railway. Hersham: Oxford Publishing Co. ISBN   978-0-86093-565-0. OCLC   59498388.
  2. 1 2 Electricity Commissioners (1925). Electricity Supply 1920–23. London: HMSO. pp. 228–231, 514–19.
  3. "Festiniog Quarries Electrified". North Wales Express. 31 August 1906.
  4. 1 2 3 Garrett, Frederick C. (1959). Garcke's Manual of Electricity Supply vol. 56. London: Electrical Press. pp. A-50, A-141.
  5. CEGB Annual report and Accounts, 1961, 1962 & 1963
  6. CEGB Statistical Yearbook 1972 to 1986 Central Electricity Generating Board