Dobby memorial forced diversion of Ireland-UK power link

A €500 million electricity interconnector between Ireland and Wales was diverted due to efforts by Harry Potter fans to save a memorial to Dobby the House Elf, according to the project’s manager.

The 500-megawatt Greenlink interconnector enables the import of electricity into Ireland from Britain, and the export of any surplus renewable electricity from Ireland.

It involved the laying down of a 190km-long high voltage electricity cable between Great Island in Wexford and Freshwater West beach in Pembrokeshire where a scene involving the death of fictional Dobby was filmed during Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1).

Project manager Simon Ludlam told the Energy Revolution podcast that the cable had to be re-routed following “hundreds of calls” from Dobby fans.

He said the route had been agreed with authorities and landowners.

However, after pointing out where the cable would go underground in a BBC News interview, Mr Ludlam’s office was bombarded with calls.

“We got hundreds of calls, I mean hundreds of calls,” he said.

Mr Ludlam’s colleague informed him that the cable was going “straight through Dobby’s grave”.

“I said Dobby, who’s Dobby?,” Mr Ludlam told the podcast.

“He’s a fictitious character in a fictitious book. The whole thing is fictitious,” he said.

However, he soon discovered the concerns were “very, very serious”.

“And it was serious. We got back with the planners, and we discussed exactly how to reroute the cable, so we wouldn’t go anywhere near Dobby’s grave.

“Actually, we were quite close to some real Bronze Age remains. But we avoided Dobby’s grave.

“A lot of people were very happy about that. The project’s now going and Dobby’s happy,” he said.

Mr Ludlam laughed: “It’s the first time; we’ve moved for a fictitious character.”