Potential gold mine for water power generation
IN his excellent letter “Ditch dredging and the power of common sense” (Yorkshire Post, January 18), Keith Bagot bemoans the lack of hydro-electric generation from Yorkshire rivers and the ruining of our countryside with giant steel towers with rotating blades.
Unfortunately, unlike the Scottish Highlands, here in Yorkshire we lack the plunging mountain sides required for viable hydro plants.
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Hide AdHowever, the Pennines are still a potential gold mine for water-powered electric generation.
With up to 60 inches of rainfall per year, fresh water is no doubt one of our region’s greatest natural assets.
The upper reaches of the Colne Valley are not only a great place to stretch the legs and take in the fresh air, but also a place to marvel at the engineering genius of the Victorians.
Using a largely unseen labyrinth of catchment drains, conduits, culverts, pipes and sluices, water flowing off the high moors is captured in a series of storage reservoirs, holding back an unimaginable volume of Pennine water.
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Hide AdThis water could have another useful role on its journey to our taps, to be forced though a series of turbines to create hydro-electricity.
A pumped storage system would enable surplus water to be returned to the upper reservoirs during off-peak demand.
It would be a local, green revolution in power generation that Yorkshire Water should be eager to exploit.
Using their new advertising campaign featuring somebody enjoying a bath under the banner “The Yorkshire water that warms itself” would certainly tick a whole series of boxes.