A Lake District resort and spa has installed a turbine at its site to provide green energy for its operations.
English Lakes Hotels Resorts and Venues has installed the hydroelectric turbine at its Low Wood Bay Resort and Spa site on the shores of Windermere.
Housed in a small Lakeland style barn within the spa resort’s 45-acre site, the Hydrolite HLT-10-2SV5L turbine will use water from a fellside beck to generate 180 MWh annually, which equates to about 33 per cent of the venue’s current electricity usage.
Tim Berry from English Lakes Hotels Resorts and Venues said: “The arrival of the twin jet Turgo turbine with its stainless steel water wheel is a really exciting moment for the project, bringing all our planning and engineering designs to life.
“The turbine has a six-pole, three-phase generator to produce power and it’s been sized to work optimally at a certain dynamic pressure. It’s expected to generate between 53-60 kW and will automatically adjust the flow through its jets according to the water available, wasting nothing and producing the maximum power it can at all times.”
The water for the turbine is being fed down an 860-metre pipeline from the top of the fell, running through the jets to generate electricity before flowing back into the beck.
English Lakes Hotels Resorts and Venues has been working with the Lake District National Park Authority and the Environment Agency on the project, with Penrith-based GPHL as lead contractor and Ellergreen Hydro as principal designer.
The hotel group has also attained Green Key international eco‐label for its venues and tourism facilities across the Lake District and North Lancashire, an internationally recognised accolade for its approach to sustainability and eco-tourism.
