The Anonymous Widower

Mountain Marvel: How One Of Biggest Batteries In Europe Uses Thousands Of Gallons Of Water To Stop Blackouts

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Guardian.

This is the sub-heading.

Much-loved’ Dinorwig hydroelectric energy storage site in Wales has a vital role to play in keeping the lights on

These are the first three paragraphs of the article.

Seconds after a catastrophic series of power outages struck across the UK in the summer of 2019, a phone rang in the control room of the Dinorwig hydropower plant in north Wales. It was Britain’s energy system operator requesting an immediate deluge of electricity to help prevent a wide-scale blackout crippling Britain’s power grids.

The response was swift, and in the end just under one million people were left without power for less than 45 minutes. While trains were stuck on lines for hours and hospitals had to revert to backup generators, that phone call prevented Britain’s worst blackout in a decade from being far more severe.

Almost six years later, the owners of Dinorwig, and its sister plant at Ffestiniog on the boundary of Eryri national park, formerly Snowdonia, are preparing to pump up to £1bn into a 10-year refurbishment of the hydropower plants that have quietly helped to keep the lights on for decades.

This is one of the best articles, I have read about pumped storage hydroelectricity.

It is very much a must read.

May 25, 2025 - Posted by AnonW | Energy, Energy Storage | Coire Glas Pumped Hydro, Dinorwig Power Station (Electric Mountain), ENGIE, Ffestiniog Pumped Hydro, Pumped Storage Hydroelectricity, SSE