The Whitby Esk Energy – Ruswarp Hydro
a community-owned 50kW Archimedes screw hydroelectric turbine on the River Esk at Ruswarp, near Whitby, North Yorkshire
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The scheme is run by volunteers through Esk Energy (Yorkshire) Limited, a registered society. Our main aim is to reduce the carbon footprint of the Esk Valley through generating renewable electricity. Learn – Share – Educate
Community Hydro Forum – online event
Sharing expertise in community hydro
8th March, 7.30 – 9.00pm
Whitby Esk Energy, with support from Kate Gilmartin who is working with a number of community hydro projects in the North West, are hosting an online event to share expertise in community hydro through resurrecting the Community Hydro Forum. The aim is to bring together people who have delivered, are delivering or thinking about community hydro.
Over the last 15 years, a number of communities have successfully developed and delivered community owned hydro schemes. Here’s a great example of a new scheme commissioned in October 2021: Congleton Hydro. With a growing interest in local renewable energy generation to meet our net zero ambitions, many communities are looking to use their local rivers as a source for clean, green energy.
Without the Feed-in-Tariff to subsidise renewable energy generation, it is hard to get hydro schemes to be financially viable due to their high capital costs, however, communities are finding innovative ways to ensure hydro schemes are still coming to fruition.
To support this new and continued interest in hydro development, we are pleased to hold this event to help and assist groups who may need specific questions answered around the viability or next steps for their scheme.
For those at the beginning of their hydro journey, it would be worth first watching a recording of the Micro Hydro Masterclass run last year by Community Energy South and looking at the guide produced by the British Hydropower Association. Having looked at these resources, you can then submit questions in advance of the event for our panel of community hydro enthusiasts to hopefully help answer during the session.
For those with operational hydro schemes, we’re keen for you to share your expertise, but also to work as a group to consider solutions around getting the best price for the energy we sell and how we can collaboratively think of new ways in which we may do that.
We look forward to seeing you on the 8th March, 7.30 -9.00pm
Book your place via Eventbrite
For further information contact Caryn Loftus, Whitby Esk Energy
Great Big Green Week – power from the river
As part of Great Big Green Week, come and visit Whitby Esk Energy, a community hydroelectric scheme. Find out how we have generated over 1GWh of renewable electricity. A tour of the site, in Ruswarp, will start at 2pm on Saturday 18th September. To book a place, email or phone 0741 0549 833.
Contributing to development of community energy nationally
As well as running the community hydroelectric scheme, the Esk Energy team also help promote the development of community energy nationally through our membership of Community Energy England and taking part in consultations. We contributed to Community Energy England’s ‘2030 Vision’ and ‘2020 State of the Sector’ documents. A photograph from an Esk Energy event was featured on Northern Power Grid’s ‘Community Energy Strategy 2020-23’ and we were pleased that Whitby Esk Energy was one of the local case studies in a hearing of the North Yorkshire Rural Commission.
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