99 Year Old Hydroelectric Plant Coming Back Online
In our search for new clean technology, it’s important to pay attention to inventions of the past. A tiny hydroelectric plant in the Yorkshire Dales area of England is coming out of a 60 year retirement next summer to create renewable energy.
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The Linton Falls hydroelectric plant will work with the use of two Archimedean screws. Originally designed to carry water up as they rotate, the screws will generate renewable energy by spinning at high speeds when river water flows through them.
The plant will generate a reasonable 510,000 kWh of energy each year— not bad considering the structure has been sitting dormant for decades. Eventually, the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority wants to use up to 50 sites for similar schemes.
While hydroelectric dams may not be appropriate everywhere, the Linton Falls plant proves that we should pay attention to the tools we already have before building new ones.
Photo Credit: The UK Daily Mail
So thats what, 58 watts an hour?
Not ALL hydroelectric causes the damage you speak of.
I’ve seen setups with water wheels that have very little effect on anything.
A dam is not required to make hydroelectric power. And smaller low-impact installations could be done without much negative effect on the environment.
nna is making a broad statement that is mostly true, but does not apply in this article’s case. The hydroelectric project in the article does not create a dam, it is using the existing natural contour of the land to it’s advantage.
nna
Did you read the article? They are re-using an existing hydro electrical dam, not making a new one. Utilizing already existing infrastructure, ecological impact should be minimal as the damage was done a century ago.
Hydroelectric power is only an ecological disaster when monster dams are created, like the Hoover dam. These cause lower water levels downstream, and drastically decrease, if not eliminate, fish populations that use that river for migration. This can cause a chain reaction, putting stresses on animals higher up on the food chain, and causing an overpopulation of those lower on the food chain.
Hydroelectricity is a good option, but it must be harnessed carefully. Small hydroelectric plants, such as the one in this article, are the way to harness hydroelectric power sustainably.
RE: joebob
Actually think of it as 1397 kWh a day. That could power quite a few homes in the surrounding three villages, in the middle of bfe nowhere. And depending on how efficiently or how much they normally use, this’ll put a nice size dent into or completely eliminate their dependence on the grid.
Hmmm….instead of going with these small foot print projects to create energy, maybe we should go with coal or nuclear?
ORRRRR…..we should capture the gases the sheep emit in the background.
Note:
Sheep are large producers of gases, which is why we should not wear wool clothing.
And that’s how desperate we are.
I would have to agree with the first commenter to some degree. Hydro dams in general are a disaster to many aspects of society and the ecology.
Check out Renata, B.C. Canada. The thriving town was destroyed, burned , and flooded to build a dam which would eventually power homes throughout the valley.
The residents had no choice, and the government bought them out for a fraction of what the real estate was worth. Many did not want to leave.
Not only is the majority of the valley flooded ( combined two large lakes ), but now the Real estate value is worth Gold compared the amount of electricity generated at the dam.
This dam also greatly impacts the breeding runs of many fish, including the near extinct salmon.
I’m all for clean energy; however, dams are not always the way to go. In this case, sure.. the dam already existed.