Duke of Northumberland revives hydro turbine

Oct 24 2009 by Karen Dent, The Journal

A HYDRO-ELECTRIC system which lay dormant for more than half a century is being revived to provide green electricity for the Duke of Northumberland’s estate.

A mixture of original and new equipment will use infrastructure in the River Aln, which was first put in place in 1889 and last used in 1948, when Alnwick Castle was plugged into the mains.

The refurbished original turbine is at the heart of the £105,000 scheme at Canongate Weir on the Aln in Hulne Park.

It is expected to produce a constant 25KW of electricity – enough to power 20 modern houses a day – for around half the year, or more than 100,000 units annually.

Graham Caygill, clerk of works at Northumberland Estates, said: “The idea was really from the Duke, he was interested in trying to get it working again.

“The first thing we did before committing ourselves was to strip the old system down and see if it would work. Derwent Hydro stripped it down and said yes, it will work.

“I was totally amazed. We say it was decommissioned in 1948, but it was actually walked away from in 1948. It’s stood the test of time – the condition of the plant was absolutely tremendous.