Hydro scheme is a good fit for Welsh hill farm

摘要

Farming at 1,100ft above sea level in a region where the average annual rainfall is 90in is challenging, but one upland livestock producer is using those natural resources to his advantage. Tegwyn Jones built a 93kW hydroelectric scheme on his Meirionnydd farm 10 years ago, generating 360,000 units annually from an ouday of E90,000. And he has just started producing energy from a second, lOOkW plant, which cost E500,000 to establish. The cost differential between both schemes is largely due to height. Hydroelectric power is generated by transforming the energy from the gravitational force of falling or flowing water into electricity, so the higher a scheme, the less it costs to establish. Large dams and steep rivers facilitate the generation of hydroelectric power.