Cheers! Pub gets permission to go hydro-powered

Posted on 10 December 2013 by Vicky Ellis

This watering hole’s occupants are soon to be thirsty in more ways than one – Sticklebarn pub in the Lake District has just got planning permission for a new hydropower project.

The 100kW hydro-electric scheme is part of a wider hope to turn Sticklebarn (pictured) into the UK’s most sustainable pub.

It’s one of three ‘green’ projects by the conservation charity National Trust and power firm Good Energy to get approval this week.

Another hydro scheme at Craflwyn Hall in Snowdonia will generate 100kW worth of energy to sell back to the grid while a 300kW marine source heat pump at the Plas Newydd country house in Anglesey will provide 100% of the property’s heat needs.

The Trust’s Rural Enterprises Director Patrick Begg said the schemes should help National Trust trim energy costs: “We care deeply about the beautiful places we look after and want them to stay that way forever.

“The renewable schemes we are building will help wean us off oil and reduce our energy costs by more than £4 million a year.”

The Trust has pledged to pump nearly £3.5 million into five pilot projects during 2013/14. It could spend ten times that amount on a programme to generate 50% of its energy from renewable sources if they are successful.

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Article source: http://www.energylivenews.com/2013/12/10/cheers-pub-gets-permission-to-go-hydro-powered/