A new hydroelectric power plant will be officially opened today (Friday)  by Geoffrey Boycott, the ex-Yorkshire and England cricketer.

The 500kW Knottingley scheme,  half a mile down the Aiire river from the  Ferrybridge coal-fired power station  has been developed by Barn Energy, a privately-owned renewable energy project developer.  The £7.5m plant will was completed on budget and with around 90% of the contracts placed with British companies, almost all in Yorkshire and the north.

Knottingley is the third river hydro scheme that Barn Energy has built in Yorkshire over the past three years.  Its Kirkthorpe scheme on the River Calder near Wakefield opened earlier this year, and its Thrybergh scheme, on the River Don near Rotherham, opened in 2015.

In developing Knottingley, Barn Energy and the project team worked closely with the Environment Agency and the Canal & River Trust (the scheme abstracts water from the Canal & River Trust’s Aire & Calder Navigation) to ensure that there were no detrimental impacts from the project.  A major part of the project is a fish passage for salmon, eels and other migratory fish.

Mark Simon, chief executive of Barn Energy, said: “Knottingley is our third significant and long-term investment in Yorkshire’s energy infrastructure and is providing secure and sustainable energy to a local flour mill and the local grid.  The economic and environmental benefits that river hydro offers, and the goodwill shown towards this type of clean energy generation, are clear to see. However, given changes in government policy, and despite its Clean Growth Strategy that was published last month, it’s very likely that Knottingley will be the last scheme that we build in Yorkshire and possibly in the UK.  Infrastructure projects of this kind, which have abundant environmental benefits, need the public sector involved to help access low-cost, long-term finance.”