Power Station
The Power Station is a dwarf-run building located just west of the entrance to the Dwarven Mine. It appeared on the 7 May 2008 as the central plot device of the Perils of Ice Mountain quest.
During the Perils of Ice Mountain quest, the power station is renovated and replaced with a more environmentally-friendly power system.
History
The original power station was commissioned by Drorkar, an industrious dwarf in the service of the Consortium, a collection of eight powerful mining companies that govern the dwarven capital city of Keldagrim. The station was the first of its kind, designed to produce power to fuel Nurmof's automated pickaxe machine.
The station was one of two ideas proposed, one by Drorkar and another by a dwarf named Bordiss. The night before the ideas were brought to Nurmof, however, Bordiss got drunk while discussing the matter with Drorkar. When Boridss awoke, the key to the chest containing his plans was missing. Believing he had lost it in his drunken state, he swore a vow of silence and joined the monks in the nearby Monastery. Meanwhile, the power station's success had nearly convinced the Consortium to commission the construction of many more stations of the same kind.
During Perils of Ice Mountain, players discover that it was Drorkar that stole the key in order to make sure that his plan would be put into action. When this is revealed, Bordiss breaks his vow of silence to recover his key and commissions the construction of a cleaner power station.
Design
Original Power Station
The original station obtains power by using a collection of small furnaces. These furnaces are powered by baby dragons, who are force-fed coal and then made to breath fire into the furnace. The furnaces produce energy from the burnt coal, which allows for the powering of large machinery.
Over the course of the quest, however, the issues that surround the station become apparent. Due to global warming in Gielinor, a number of side effects occur, which ultimately threaten to destroy RuneScape's environment. As the player stops the machine during the quest, many of the eventual effects never happen. The known effects and controversies, in order, include:
- Baby dragons are continuously killed as a result of being force fed.
- The increased heat output begins to increase temperatures on Ice Mountain, which in turn begins to heat northern Asgarnia.
- The flowers of the monks in the monastery begin to wilt due to the increased temperatures, and they hypothesize that this is because the cool winds from Ice Mountain have stopped.
- The icefiends that inhabit Ice Mountain begin to melt, attracting the attention of Professor Arblenap, a gnomeish scientist. In order to prevent the extinction of the icefiends, he takes four baby icefiends to a colder area.
- Increased temperatures cause the snow on Ice Mountain to become unstable, resulting in avalanches and earthquakes.
- Increased demand for coal and dragon eggs results in drastic price increases amongst the Consortium.
- The melting of icebergs in the oceans will cause water levels to rise, wiping out coastal settlements and underground cities such as Keldagrim and Dorgesh-Kaan.
- Global temperature increases will cause islands such as Entrana and Etceteria to become flooded.
- The Kharidian Desert will stretch further north, leaving Misthalin desperate for food and its climate drastically altered. This will result in civil war amongst Varrock, Lumbridge, and other areas.
New Power Station
Upon completion of Perils of Ice Mountain, Drorkar's station is replaced with a clean, wind-powered station designed by the dwarf Bordiss. This station uses wind blown from Ice Mountain to obtain power. In the event that winds are down, power is reserved within the station.