The Old Turbine House
Linton Falls, Grassington
The old turbine house on the upper weir at Linton Falls was restored in 2011 to enable the site to produce hydroelectricity for Grassington and the surrounding area for the first time in over 50 years.
By feeding power into the local distribution network, the two Archimedean screw bring the station in to the modern era, just as its original owners did over a century ago when it first became a hydroelectricity generating station.
The new generators are capable of producing 500,000 kWh of electricity every year, the equivalent to the average annual energy use of 90 family homes. This renewable energy source also saves the environment 216 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year when compared with equivalent fossil fuel power generation.
The turbine house was originally built in 1909 by the Grassington Electricity Supply Company and took advantage of the Upper Linton Falls weir, which had been constructed around a century earlier.
1921 saw the site taken over by the Linton Mill Electricity Supply Company who extended the original turbine house with two new hydro-electricity generators. These were installed in the turbine bays you can still see today. The station continued generating until 1948 when the arrival of the national grid to the Yorkshire Dales for the first time meant that local power generation was no longer financially viable. The structure was abandoned and left open to the elements.
In 2000, due to its significance as an early example of a local electricity generating site, Linton Falls was designed as a Scheduled Monument by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. After receiving the necessary consents and licenses, in 2011 the turbine house was carefully restored in a sympathetic manner (using materials to match the original building), and two new Archimedean screw turbines weir installed to enable the site to begin producing hydroelectricity once again.
Now operational and supplying electricity not only has the heritage of the Linton Falls Hydroelectric Power Station been saved but the site is making a valuable contribution to tomorrow as a source of renewable energy.
The Old Turbine House
Linton Falls, Grassington
The old turbine house on the upper weir at Linton Falls was restored in 2011 to enable the site to produce hydroelectricity for Grassington and the surrounding area for the first time in over 50 years.
By feeding power into the local distribution network, the two Archimedean screw bring the station in to the modern era, just as its original owners did over a century ago when it first became a hydroelectricity generating station.
The new generators are capable of producing 500,000 kWh of electricity every year, the equivalent to the average annual energy use of 90 family homes. This renewable energy source also saves the environment 216 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year when compared with equivalent fossil fuel power generation.
The turbine house was originally built in 1909 by the Grassington Electricity Supply Company and took advantage of the Upper Linton Falls weir, which had been constructed around a century earlier.
1921 saw the site taken over by the Linton Mill Electricity Supply Company who extended the original turbine house with two new hydro-electricity generators. These were installed in the turbine bays you can still see today. The station continued generating until 1948 when the arrival of the national grid to the Yorkshire Dales for the first time meant that local power generation was no longer financially viable. The structure was abandoned and left open to the elements.
In 2000, due to its significance as an early example of a local electricity generating site, Linton Falls was designed as a Scheduled Monument by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. After receiving the necessary consents and licenses, in 2011 the turbine house was carefully restored in a sympathetic manner (using materials to match the original building), and two new Archimedean screw turbines weir installed to enable the site to begin producing hydroelectricity once again.
Now operational and supplying electricity not only has the heritage of the Linton Falls Hydroelectric Power Station been saved but the site is making a valuable contribution to tomorrow as a source of renewable energy.