NOV 04

Linton Falls, a hydroelectric dam in Grassington, England, was first built in 1909 - a time when oil lamps were the norm. It was decommissioned in 1948 after light bulbs became commonplace and the region got a main power supply. Since then, it's been kept as a historic monument.

Recently, though, Linton Falls is being reexamined. A study published by English Heritage (a group dedicated to protecting and promoting English historic sites) argues that the dam, as well as other historic sites, can play a significant role in carbon reduction. And so, the Linton Falls dam will run once again and produce emission-free electricity.

The technology being used is an adaptation of the ancient Archimedes Screw (pictured above), a large screw that was designed to carry water upwards as it turned. The Linton Falls plant will reverse that concept: the adjacent Wharfe River will flow downwards through two screws, spinning them fast enough to generate energy for 100 homes. Each screw is 35 feet long and six feet wide. The plant will generate about 510,000 kilowatt hours of electricity each year, saving around 216 tons of carbon dioxide emissions compared to equivalent fossil fuel-powered generation.

The project is scheduled to be finished by next summer and up to 50 other old mill sites could be up and running next if the Linton Falls site is successful.

Via Daily Mail, Halifax Courier

Image via Creative Commons

Comments (4)

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wha ?
written by Brian, November 04, 2008

510,000 kilowatt hours?
did you mean 510 megawatt hours or 510 kilowatt hours?

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written by Clinch, November 04, 2008

He means 510 megawatt hours (a lot of non-geek people don't know what megawatts are, so the non-tech sources give the numbers in kilowatts).

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Lembranças
written by joao Divany, November 25, 2008

Quando li este artigo lembrei de alguns anos atras ( 26 anos para ser preciso) quando ajudei meu filho num trabalho escolar de apresentação de feira de ciencia e ele montou um parfuso de arquimedes. Durante a visitação foi um sucesso de pessoas interessadas em ver e pedir explicações, poque as pessoas achavam muito interessante que um movimento de rotação nesse parafuso podia fazer a agua passar de um recepíente para outro em posição superior.

Translate:
When I read this article remembered a few years back (26 years to be precise) when it helped my son work in a school presentation of the science fair and he set a parfuso of Archimedes. During the visit was a success for people interested in seeing and ask for explanations, Why people thought much interesting that a wheel bolt that could make the water move from one recipient to another in the top position.

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510 megawatts?
written by Pandwe, November 26, 2008

I am sure Peg meant 510 kilowatts which is probably enough for 100 small homes. 510 MW is probably enough for tens of thousands of city homes.

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