Harnessing power for a new generation from Yorkshire's rivers

Perhaps we should place more faith in the wisdom of our ancestors, who knew how to master the power of water. The Greeks used water-wheels to grind wheat into flour more than 2,000 years ago, and today hydropower can provide at least a partial solution to our energy problems.

Many “green” entrepreneurs can find inspiration from the work of Barn Energy. The company was established by three renewable energy entrepreneurs who believe that hydroelectric development can help to ensure that at least 20 per cent of the UK’s electricity will be generated from non-carbon sources by 2020.

The team behind Barn Energy includes CEO Mark Simon, an experienced entrepreneur who is now dedicated to establishing environmentally responsible, renewable energy generation in the UK.

After years of painfully slow progress, the data indicate that we are taking strides towards a sustainable future.

Research suggests that the UK enjoyed a green Christmas last year, with more than two-fifths of electricity coming from renewables.

Over the day, wind, solar, hydropower and biomass provided 41 per cent of the UK’s electricity, up from 25 per cent for Christmas 2015, according to data from Electric Insights, published by Imperial College London.

Hydroelectric schemes have significant advantages over other means of energy generation, because they will run more or less continuously.

Barn Energy works closely with its partner companies, Yorkshire Hydropower Ltd and Northern Hydropower Ltd, which own and operate hydropower stations. The company is already helping Britain to become greener by establishing hydro schemes.

One Yorkshire hydroelectric power plant is providing electricity for hundreds of homes and paving the way for the return of salmon stocks for the first time in a century.

Barn Energy is behind the plant near Rotherham, which, at the time, was the biggest of its type ever built in Yorkshire.

As part of the scheme, a fish-pass has been built which should allow salmon to return to Sheffield to spawn for the first time since the First World War.

The £2.1m plant, developed by Barn Energy and Yorkshire Hydropower, is based at Thrybergh Weir on the River Don, near the village of Kilnhurst close to Rotherham, and provides power for 300 homes.

The project is said to be the largest plant commissioned in the UK in the last three years. The scheme was completed on time, on budget and with 80 per cent of the contracts placed with British companies.

Mark Simon, chief executive of Barn Energy, said: “In making this special project happen, we have worked tirelessly with the Canal and River Trust, the Environment Agency and local interests to ensure that hydropower enriches and repairs the local environment of the River Don, as well as reduce our burning of fossil fuels.