Our story
Melbreak Community Energy Limited (formerly Melbreak Communities CIC) has been progressing low carbon projects across the area for a number of years. It is especially hard for rural communities to transition to Net Zero as many people are reliant on their cars for travelling, as bus services are often sporadic. Many rural buildings are 'hard to treat' as they maybe stone and pre-1900 solid wall and are often heated by oil. Transitioning to heat pumps is not a cheaper solution unless extensive retro-fit and insulation works are carried out first, which can be very disruptive.
As Melbreak sits in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, more visible renewable energy technologies are not allowed. However, hydro is a low-impact, low-visibility form of renewable energy that generates most of its electricity in the winter months, when our energy needs are the highest. We have identified 10 potential schemes in the Melbreak area that we think could generate enough electricity to meet a significant amount of our communities demand.
The Mill Beck renewable energy project will generate low carbon electricity for the community of Buttermere, one of the most beautiful areas in the Lake District.
The project is to establish a small hydroelectric generating scheme on Mill Beck in Buttermere. Planning has been underway for several years. The scheme has been approved by the Environment Agency to abstract water within carefully specified limits; planning consent has been granted by the Lake District Planning Authority subject to various conditions related to the site; and consent has also been granted for works on Common Land, by the Planning Inspectorate. We are aiming to start building the scheme in 2025.
Our advice
Community Hydro schemes take a long time to develop as there are so many stakeholders that need to be engaged and consulted. Firstly, the land owners need to be keen to work with a group. The Buttermere scheme is a 'high head' scheme, which means that it has a small dam at the upper reach of the river/ beck and an intake which diverts a percentage of the water from the stream into a pipe or 'penstock'. This penstock then runs alongside the river, in the case of Buttermere, 660m. This pipe will either be buried or camouflaged. The pipe then ends at the turbine, which is housed in a small shed-like building before the water is returned to the river.
Consent and legal agreements must be obtained from any landowners were access is required, or where the pipe crosses their land. At Buttermere we have had to engage and work with 4 land owners. we also need an abstraction licence from the Environment Agency, planning permission for the turbine house and engagement with the community and with the owners of the local grid, Electricity North West. It often takes about 4 years to develop a hydro project, but then with good operation and maintenance, it can operate for 60 plus years.
We have a strong working group that meets regularly via Zoom to make sure the project keeps momentum and to enable us to progress actions. We have used the Rural Community Energy Fund (RCEF) grant to pay consultants to support our aspirations and we will raise the capital finance through undertaking a Community Share Issue.
Rural Cumbria has many villages on oil and the grid will struggle to meet the increased demand of electricity caused by the increasing of numbers of people who need to transition to heat pumps when they come off oil. The increased numbers of electric vehicles needing to be charged will put further pressure on the grid. Currently the Grid cannot support an electric vehicle charge point, but the addition of the hydro will mean there is sufficient capacity to allow a charge point be to be installed.
Our Changeprint
Our Changeprint can be measured by annual kWh of renewable energy produced by the hydro scheme once operational; tonnes of CO2 emissions avoided per year compared with oil or grid electricity; value of funds generated for local projects and number of community initiatives supported via surplus income; number of households, buildings, or EV charge points supported by the scheme.
