The River Wharfe is a river in Yorkshire, England originating within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. For much of its middle course it is the county boundary between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. Its valley is known as Wharfedale.
Grassington is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. The population of the parish at the 2011 Census was 1,126. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and now in the lieutenancy area of North Yorkshire, the village is situated in Wharfedale, about 8 miles (10 km) north-west from Bolton Abbey, and is surrounded by limestone scenery. Nearby villages include Linton, Threshfield, Hebden, Conistone and Kilnsey.
Micro hydro is a type of hydroelectric power that typically produces from 5 kW to 100 kW of electricity using the natural flow of water. Installations below 5 kW are called pico hydro. These installations can provide power to an isolated home or small community, or are sometimes connected to electric power networks, particularly where net metering is offered. There are many of these installations around the world, particularly in developing nations as they can provide an economical source of energy without the purchase of fuel. Micro hydro systems complement solar PV power systems because in many areas water flow, and thus available hydro power, is highest in the winter when solar energy is at a minimum. Micro hydro is frequently accomplished with a pelton wheel for high head, low flow water supply. The installation is often just a small dammed pool, at the top of a waterfall, with several hundred feet of pipe leading to a small generator housing. In low head sites, generally water wheels and Archimedes' screws are used.
The Falls of Foyers are two waterfalls on the River Foyers, which feeds Loch Ness, in Highland, Scotland. They are located on the lower portion of the River Foyers, and consist of the upper falls, with a drop of 46 feet (14 m) and the lower falls, which drop 98 feet (30 m).
The Barron Gorge Hydroelectric Power Station in Queensland, Australia is an electricity power station commissioned in 1963 with a maximum capacity of 66 megawatts (89,000 hp). It is in the locality of Barron Gorge in the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area 20 kilometres (12 mi) north-west of Cairns. It replaced an earlier station which was the first underground power station in the country and the first hydroelectric station in Queensland. The power station was refurbished in 2006.
The Rubicon Hydroelectric Scheme is a small run-of-the-river hydroelectric scheme located on the Rubicon and Royston Rivers, north east of Melbourne, 40 km (25 mi) south-west of Alexandra, Victoria, Australia. The scheme commenced in 1922, and was the first state-owned hydroelectric scheme to generate electricity in mainland Australia, and among the first in the world to be remotely controlled. For the first ten years of its operation it supplied on average 16.9% of electricity generated by the State Electricity Commission of Victoria. It is now owned and operated by AGL Energy and contributes approximately 0.02% of Victoria's energy supply.
Linton is a village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. The population as of the 2011 census was 176. It lies not far from Grassington, just south of the River Wharfe, and is 7 miles (11 km) north of Skipton. Linton Beck runs through the village and then joins the Wharfe at Linton Falls. The beck is crossed by two Grade II listed bridges on the village green, and is overlooked by Fountaine's Hospital, a Grade II* listed chapel and almshouse built in the style of Sir John Vanburgh. There is also a public house, the Fountaine Inn.
Torrs Hydro is a micro hydroelectric scheme, owned by the community, in New Mills, Derbyshire. It is on the River Goyt, immediately below its confluence with the River Sett at the Torr weir. A 2.4-metre diameter steel trough screw turbine generates up to 63 kW of electricity.
Settle Hydro is a micro hydroelectric scheme, owned by the community, in Settle, North Yorkshire, England. It is located on the River Ribble, at Settle Weir near Bridge End Mill. It generates 50 kW of electricity using a screw turbine in part of the former mill race.
The Monmouth New Hydro Scheme, which incorporates the Osbaston fish pass, is a hydroelectric scheme in Osbaston, near Monmouth, in South-East Wales.
The Lanark Hydro Electric Scheme consists of two hydroelectric plants in the Clydesdale area of South Lanarkshire, Scotland. They are run-of-the-river power stations, using water from the River Clyde near to the Falls of Clyde. Bonnington Power Station gets its water supply from just above Corra Linn in New Lanark, while Stonebyres Power Station takes water from above Stonebyres Linn near Kirkfieldbank. Bonnington is the larger of the two stations, which between them can produce 17 MW.
Cathaleen's Fall hydroelectric power station is a hydroelectric plant located on the River Erne at Ballyshannon in County Donegal, Ireland. Also known as Ballyshannon, it is owned and operated by the ESB Group. The plant consists of two Kaplan turbines providing a combined capacity of 45 MW (60,000 hp) within a concrete gravity dam 257 m (843 ft) long. Constructed between 1946 and 1955, it is the larger of two hydroelectric plants built between Belleek and Ballyshannon at the same time. Despite construction of the dam meaning the destruction of Assaroe Falls, a local beauty spot, Camlin Castle and many other dwellings, there was no local or national resistance to the project. It was the Ireland's first act of major co-operation with Northern Ireland since independence. The site appears in Conor McPherson's The Weir, to represent the fictional location in the play.
The River Bain Hydro is a hydroelectric generator on the River Bain in the village of Bainbridge, North Yorkshire, England. Its screw turbine powers most of the properties in the village, with excess electricity being sold off to the National Grid. It was opened in 2011 with an installed capacity of 45 kW, and is expected to last 40 years. It is a low-demand ecofriendly scheme.
Ruswarp Hydro or Whitby Esk Energy, is a Hydroelectric generation scheme that operates on the River Esk at Ruswarp, North Yorkshire, England. The project uses an Archimedes Screw in a reverse direction to generate electricity and was funded by people in the community. Around 4 tonnes of water pass along the screw per second, which generates enough electricity to power 45–48 homes.
Burley Hydro Scheme, also known as Greenholme Mill Hydro is a micro hydroelectric scheme installed on the River Wharfe at Burley-in-Wharfedale, West Yorkshire, England. The power output of the hydro scheme is 330 kW with an annual output of 1,400 MWh and is the fourth hydro scheme on the river after the opening of similar power plants at Linton near Grassington, and two further downstream from Burley at Pool-in-Wharfedale and Garnett Wharfe at Otley. All of these schemes have been located on sites previously used to generate power from the water flow.
Linton Lock Hydro is a hydroelectric plant on the River Ouse in North Yorkshire, England, between the villages of Linton-on-Ouse and Nun Monkton. The first hydroelectric scheme was built here in 1923, but that was abandoned in the early 1960s. The second scheme to be sited at Linton Lock was installed in 2011 and a new generating unit came on stream in 2017. The combined output from the second and third generation plants is 380 kW, which is enough to power 450 homes.
Kirkthorpe hydro is a hydroelectric generating plant located on the River Calder at Kirkthorpe Weir, 4 miles (6.4 km) east of the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. The plant was opened in 2017 and expects to be generating electricity for 100 years. Kirkthorpe Weir is the highest industrial weir in Yorkshire and has prevented fish passing upstream to spawn; the new hydro project has a fish pass built into it.
Reading Hydro is a micro hydroelectric scheme in Reading, England. It is located on the River Thames, at the upstream end of View Island and using the head of water provided by the weir at Caversham Lock. With a drop of about 1.4 metres and an average water flow of 37 cubic metres (1,300 cu ft) per second, it can generate 46 kilowatts (62 hp) of electricity with its twin archimedes screw turbines.
Osney Lock Hydro is a micro hydroelectric scheme in Oxford, England. It is located on the River Thames, using the head of water provided by the weir at Osney Lock. It can generate 49 kilowatts (66 hp) of electricity with its archimedes screw turbine. Between 2015 and 2020 the scheme generated an average of 188 megawatt-hours (680 GJ) a year of electricity, which is enough to power around 60 homes.
Sandford Hydro is a small hydroelectric scheme located on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England. It uses the head of water provided by the weir at Sandford Lock in Sandford-on-Thames, but is actually situated on the opposite bank of the river in Kennington. It can generate 450 kilowatts (600 hp) of electricity with its three archimedes screw turbines. Construction began in 2011, and the plant became operational in 2018.
