Via the Waterfeature blog (tagline: giving a dam about micro hydro) and this thread on the Fly Forums comes a highly informative film, including interviews with experts Paul Gaskell, Chris Firth and David Buttle, warning about the harmful effects of the new wave of micro hydro schemes on rivers like Sheffield’s Don.
Kelham Island Hydro from Waterfeature on Vimeo.
At a time when most of the rest of the world is waking up to the damage done by dams and turbines, and even starting to decommission and remove them, this is a measured, in-depth consideration of how post-industrial rivers across the UK are threatened by economically-dubious low-head hydropower installations.
Well worth 22 minutes’ watching, especially if you really are in favour of properly green, sustainable forms of energy generation…
