A topping off ceremony has been held on the roof of the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth.

On Thursday, 8 May, special slates were installed to ‘top off’ the work on the roof, and turn on the Photovoltaic (PV) electricity generation system, before removing scaffolding.

All the new slates come from Blaenau Ffestiniog, keeping the carbon footprint of the work low, with contractors and team of architects also coming from Wales.

This is the first time for 98 years this roof has had new slates - and it should last 100 years.

A £1.58m budget was awarded by Welsh Government in September 2024. The solar panels and the rest of the decarbonisation program will produce a third of the energy needed by the building allowing the library to reach net zero by 2028.

The work involved 40,000 Welsh slates from Blaenau Ffestiniog, 100,000 fixings, 17,000 meters of battens (enough to go from Aberystwyth to Ponterwyd), 797 Photo Voltaic (PV) panels, LEB Construction, a local company employing eight members of staff, Will Davey Electricity, another local company, currently employing five members of local staff, and Darnton B3, also a local company with an office in Aberystwyth and a team that works from the town.

Rhodri Llwyd Morgan, Chief Executive of the National Library of Wales said: "This ‘topping off’ ceremony completes a period of extremely important work for the future of the library and its invaluable collections. Not only are we ensuring that the library estate is protected from the elements for years to come but we are also building on the pioneering work that has already taken place to decarbonise the library.

“Given this challenging timetable, snow in January and the damage of Storm Darragh - completing this work on schedule is a particularly notable achievement."