English Lakes Hotels and Resorts has installed a water-fed turbine to generate its own hydropower for the Low Wood Bay Resort & Spa. An 860-metre pipe will convey water at up to 79 litres per second to a fully automatic turbine before it flows back into the beck. It is expected to generate a power output of 53kW to 60kW to attain 180MWh to 200MWh of electricity each year, equivalent to powering 50 homes a year.
Tim Berry from English Lakes Hotels Resorts & Venues says the turbine is “already on target to create enough energy for about a third of our electricity needs for the venue”. A key advantage of hydro energy is that energy production is continuous and less dependent on changeable weather conditions.
English Lakes Hotels is a family run hotel group with two Lake District Hotels (The Lowood Bay Resort and Spa and the Wild Boar Hotel) and two North Lancashire hotels (The Midland and Lancaster House).