The peat-burning power station in stunning scenery at Min na Cung, Co Donegal, never made a profit and for six years it has been unused. Now a local group wants to marry our scientific and cultural heritage and turn it into an arts centre. Ann Marie Ní Dhubhchoin reports

A huge, green, steel building, it soars incongruously out of the rugged landscape of north-west Donegal. It used to be an ESB power station, but it has been closed since 1996. The former Min na Cung power station lies between the parish of Cloughaneely and Gaoth Dobhair in the Donegal Gaeltacht.

Various proposals have been put forward for its use. "Knock it down and build a shopping centre," was one suggestion. Hardly appropriate considering the power station is set against a scenic backdrop that tourists clamber out of their cars to photograph.

While opinion was divided on its future, most people had grudging respect for the building. Instead of demolishing it, local people now plan to transform it into a valuable resource for the county. For the first time in Ireland, a station that once generated electricity will be used to generate art - and new jobs.

The project was the original idea of one man, Seamus Kennedy, local artist and secretary of the project committee, Coiste Caomhnaithe Stáisiún.

"There was nowhere in north-west Donegal to house exhibitions, no gallery," he says, "so I visited the power station after it had closed down one day and took some photos. I then contacted people that I thought would be interested. The committee, comprised mainly of local artists was then established and plans got underway."

The main aim of the Coiste is to "develop and manage a dynamic centre of contemporary arts, culture and heritage, recreation and tourism serving the north-rest region in general and the Donegal Gaeltacht in particular," he says. As the power station lies in the heart of the Donegal Gaeltacht, the Irish language will be interwoven in all the displays, materials and presentations and promoted through educational courses. Paul Kernan, chairman of the Coiste, points out: "This is a unique project in Ireland, and can be regarded as the marrying of our scientific heritage with the arts, be they visual or creative. People in Ireland often look very far back to source their heritage, but this is our modern twentieth century history."

The refurbishment and development will include an art gallery, interpretative centre, arts/ craft studio, a film theatre, education and information technology facilities and a restaurant.

The ESB began operating the power station in 1958. The energy it generated was initially fed into the Donegal loop and subsequently into the national grid. Hand-cut turf was taken from 200 local suppliers who lived within a 20-mile radius. The turf was hauled there initially by cart and later by tractor.When he was a young man, during the 1970s, John Doohan supplied turf to the station. His eyes light up as he explains: "The turf would be tipped into a big hopper, then carried off into a grate which was eight or nine feet wide, to be burned. The heat produced converted the water supplied by the local lake into steam and this was used to drive the turbines." Doohan, whose rugged hands bear homage to hard-working days, adds that "fire eats steel" and he can remember how at one stage the chimney on the power station had to be replaced as it wasn't lagged to protect it from the surging heat. "The station provided much-needed employment for the local area," he adds. "Although it was never viable, never made a profit, the ESB kept it going."

While the idea of transforming a power station into an art gallery and cultural centre is new to Ireland, the Tate Modern Art Gallery in England exemplifies how well such a plan can be realised. The former coal-fired power station, located on the south side of the River Thames next to London's Globe Theatre, was successfully converted into a world-class art gallery and has attracted seven million visitors since it opened in May 2000. This year, the former London power station, which was converted by Swiss architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, received the accolade of Best Public Building in the first prime minister's award for Better Public Buildings. The original power station was designed by Sir Giles Scott, who perhaps is better known as the designer of the famous red telephone-box in England.

After receiving the UK award for best public building, Sir Nicholas Serota, director of the Tate Modern, commented that "the objective was to make art accessible" and help to "put Southwark on the map". The promoters of the Donegal project are determined that Min na Cung should also earn a place in history.

Unlike the Tate Modern conversion, the power-station project in Donegal will include the complete restoration of the Boiler House, Turbine Room and Control Room. These three rooms will form the interpretative centre, where the history of the station and its relationship with the community will be explained to visitors.

The promoters also plan to create an Eco-Energy Gallery. Seamus Kennedy, explains: "We want to highlight not only power generation of the past and present, but also of the future. We intend to display alternative means of power production in an interactive format."

The Coiste intends to put its words into action and at a later stage have the building generating as much of its own alternative energy as possible. It seems particularly apt that this green but aesthetically unattractive building should try to be re-incorporated into the environment from which it sprang.

Donegal maintains strong links with Northern Ireland and this project hopes to further strengthen that relationship. The Interpretative/Heritage Centre will have a cross-border dimension, in terms of the arts and the promotion of the Irish language. Paul Kernan says, "the Coiste, in conjunction with organisations such as the Nerve Centre in Derry, intends to provide training courses in film and media production."

Where there is a will there has to be a way, and in this case it comes in the form of major financial backing. From the outset Údarás na Gaeltachta gave its support to this innovative idea. However, substantial funding for the development will have to be secured from other sources.

While the Coiste has drawn up a comprehensive and viable business plan, it is still negotiating major funding from organisations such as the European Peace and Reconciliation Fund. The estimated cost of the project is €3.8 million. The ESB plays a pivotal role in deciding whether the project will come to fruition. It has agreed to donate the building and surrounding land if the promoters can prove the feasibility of the project and demonstrate serious interest from major funding organisations. Following the closure of the power station in 1996, the ESB earmarked €634,8694 for the regeneration of this area. If the ESB likes the project and is satisfied that it is viable, then it will designate approximately €253,948 of that money for the project.

The employment opportunities that a project of this size would generate in the design, construction and fit-out of the new centre would be welcomed in a region that has suffered substantial job losses in factories over the past year. Full-time positions would also be created. It is envisaged that the centre would employ 10 people on a full-time basis in its first year of operation, with catering and retail staff being employed on a seasonal basis.

This dormant facility, no longer a casualty of the 20th century, could become a source of an entirely different kind of power for the surrounding area.