Duke of Northumberland revives hydro turbine

Oct 24 2009 by Karen Dent, The Journal

“The actual turbine – the bit that makes everything work – is original. There is a new gearbox to take on the modern equipment.”

The system works by channelling water along a short canal to the powerhouse, where it turns the turbine before returning to the river.

The plant has been fitted with filters to stop fish being sucked inside and river levels are controlled automatically. If the river drops too low, the hydro-system will automatically shut down.

Electricity produced by the set-up originally helped to power Alnwick Castle in the time of the sixth Duke of Northumberland. The cable from the river ran down Canongate, passed through the coping stones of the castle wall, then crossed the road at the Lion Bridge. The power itself was stored in a bank of batteries.

Mr Caygill said: “At the time when the castle didn’t have massive demand, it probably lit up a couple of hundred lightbulbs.”

The refurbished system, which is due to go live in mid-January after winning approval from the Environment Agency, will supply electricity to the estate’s workshops.

As a producer of energy from an environmentally friendly source, the estate will receive Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs), which can be sold to offset the project’s £80,000 cost and £25,000 connection fee.

Mr Caygill said: “The estate is keen to play its part in the cutting of carbon emissions by researching renewable energy options.”

The hydro-power initiative is the first of a wave of green energy ideas being explored by Northumberland Estates to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

“We are looking at other places now,” said Mr Caygill. “The weirs in front of the castle were put there by Capability Brown to make the River Aln look more majestic and make it wider and slower.

“We are looking at putting other hydro plants in there, using an Archimedean screw – a big steel water chute with a screw inside, like a big bottle opener. We are having feasibility studies carried out. There are also sites on the River Coquet we can probably use.”