Low head hydroelectric project in Yorkshire

A new 120 kW hydroelectric power plant, the largest plant commissioned in the UK in the last three years, has started generating electricity using the flow of the River Don in South Yorkshire. Located at Thrybergh Weir near the village of Kilnhurst, five miles north-east of Rotherham, the hydropower scheme uses the flow of the River Don to power two large Archimedes screw turbines to generate renewable electricity.

Developed by Barn Energy and Yorkshire Hydropower, the £2mn plant will generate electricity 24/7, 10–11 months of the year, for the next 100 years, says Barn Energy.

In developing the project, Barn Energy and Yorkshire Hydropower consulted with local angling groups, the Don Catchment River Trust, local neighbours as well as their landlords, the Environment Agency and the Canal & River Trust to ensure that there were no detrimental impacts from the project. As part of the project, Barn Energy has built a fish and eel passage to enable salmon and trout to swim upstream in the direction of Sheffield and help the River’s eel and elver populations recover.

Barn Energy has plans for two further projects in Yorkshire, at Kirkthorpe on the River Calder and Knottingley on the River Aire, to be built over the next 2–3 years, and has plans for larger projects on the River Ouse and River Trent.