A multimillion-dollar power link between the United Kingdom and Ireland has been diverted after distraught “Harry Potter” fans pointed out that its planned route would cut through a beach memorial dedicated to a beloved character from the series, Dobby the house-elf.
The £430 million (around $580 million) Greenlink interconnector links the UK’s National Grid power transmission network to Ireland via a 125-mile cable between Ireland’s County Wexford on the southeast coast and Freshwater West, a beach in Wales’ southwest, where the death of Dobby was filmed for the Potter movie franchise.
Originally, the undersea cable — whose purpose is to share excess renewable energy, boost security and double the electricity transfer capacity between the two nations — would have disturbed the symbolic grave where Potter fans leave handwritten tributes to the magical creature on pebbles.
But after a BBC News interview about the operation troubled fans, a torrent of concerned calls caused Simon Ludlam, CEO of project manager Etchea Energy, to rethink the cable’s route, Ludlam revealed to the Energy Revolution podcast last week.
“We got hundreds of calls; I mean, hundreds of calls,” he said.
