COMMUNITY HOLD THE KEY TO UNLOCKING HYDRO POWER POTENTIAL IN THE PEAK

Inspiring plans to uncover the potential for small-scale hydro electric power generation across the Peak District have been revealed by the national park society Friends of the Peak District (FPD) and the charity is urging local communities to contribute to the project.

FPD is hosting two special community consultation events to tell people more about the project, more about hydropower and renewable energy opportunities and listen to ideas of how and where hydropower might be developed for local villages and communities!

The first event is in the north of the Peak on Tuesday 6th November at the Bradbury Community House in Glossop, from 7-9pm. The second event is in the south on Thursday 8th November at Gothic Warehouse, Cromford Mill, again from 7-9pm. Everyone is welcome to come along to either event, find out more and tell FPD about hydro opportunities in their area.

A strong focus of the Peak District project is involving villages and communities so the opportunities for new hydropower sites can be as beneficial socially as well as environmentally, explains Andy Tickle, Head of Planning at FPD. We have already asked Parish Councils to tell us about possible sites and now we want to spread the search wider. We hope that more community-based schemes such as Sustainable Youlgreave can be developed in due course.

Potential sites for hydro-power generation are being identified by archive searches, desk top studies, information from parishes, landowners and other interested parties. Already nearly 100 possible sites (mostly former mills) have been identified and investigated; about 40 of these have potential. Next technical consultants T4Susatinability, will use a specially developed computer model to identify possible constraints to developing the sites (e.g. planning issues, ecological problems, lack of grid connection). From this group of sites, between 5-10 case study sites will be investigated in detail and a full technical report and popular summary booklet will be published in early 2008.

Funded by the Peak District National Park Authority’s Sustainable Development Fund (SDF) and East Midlands Community Renewable Initiative (CRI), the Peak District Hydro Survey Project is run by FPD in partnership with Derbyshire-based renewable energy technical consultants, T4Sustainability.

Peak District National Park Authority Sustainable Development officer Richard Godley said: We fully support the Friends' project. Hydro-power has huge potential in the National Park and we are able to offer advice and contacts for anyone who wants to explore micro-turbines further.