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Teesdale electric

 

Energy efficiency in the UK has improved yet the demand for electrical power has grown by about one percent per year since 1990. The demand is met by various means but fossil fuel burning stations provide the most. Nuclear fission reactors produce about one fifth of the total supply and various generating schemes using primary energy sources considered renewable produced about 2% in 2001. A grid of cables and sub-stations connects the supply.

 

Local demand for electric power is related to the type of industry and population density within a given area. Durham County Council administers the villages of Teesdale and the council is responsible for the provision of streetlights. This note summarizes a proposal to use the River Tees to supply much more than the local streetlight demand.

 

The recurring costs of streetlights in Teesdale include the electricity bill and their maintenance.

 

Table 1: Streetlights in Teesdale, 2001, source: Durham County Council

Installed street lighting load	315,864 watts
Annual power consumption	1,263,456 kilowatt hours
Energy cost @4.3p per kw hr	£54,708
Annual maintenance cost	£57,953

 

The reservoir at Cow Green has the capacity to generate electrical power from its outflow. The Northumbrian Water Board has shown that the dam could be managed to supply 1.35 megawatts of power for 95% of the time. This generating capacity produces 11.2 million kilowatt hours per year – the demand of the streetlights is 1.2 million kw hr per year.

Installation and grid connection costs for the generator are additional and there will be maintenance costs for the system. However, it is reasonable to conclude that the generator would pay for itself within a few years and income greater than expenditure accrues thereafter.

 

The technology is available and the finances are stark yet the will remains absent. Or, electrical power generated with little pollution also yields half a million quid per year.