This page gives an overview of hydro power and links to details of the proposed Community Hydro Project at Ruswarp Weir
The Esk Energy Group is proposing to install a Hydro Scheme at Ruswarp,
Readily available local energy resource.
- Carbon free.
- Low visual impact. A high efficiency (70 - 90%), by far the best of all renewable energy technologies.
- A high capacity factor (typically >50%), compared with 10% for solar and 30% for wind.
- A high level of predictability, varying with annual rainfall patterns. Slow rate of change; the output power varies only gradually from day to day (not from minute to minute).
- It is a long-lasting and robust technology; systems can readily be engineered to last for 50 years or more.
Small hydro is in most cases 'run-of-river'; in other words any dam or barrage is quite small, usually just a weir, and little or no water is stored. Therefore run-of-river installations do not have the same kinds of adverse effect on the local environment as large-scale hydro.
Click on the link to look at the British Hydropower Association website for more information about hydropower.
The energy group commissioned a number of feasibility studies for hydro power along the river Esk. Click on the links below to open copies of the documents in PDF format.