A pioneering, community hydroelectric scheme generati funds for local community projects by generating 'green' electricity from the River Ribble in Settle.
Settle Hydro was formally registered as an ‘Industrial & Provident Society for the Benefit of the Community’ on 24th June 2008. The Hydro Electric Scheme was built during 2009 and the first electricity was generated in January 2010. Settle Hydro was one of the first community-owned hydro-electric schemes to be commissioned in the United Kingdom. The company was an innovator both in its use of Arch
09/11/2022
YFOS Story Walk Welcome to the YFOS Story Walk! Beginning at Settle Railway Station, we’ll take you on a 30 minute walk around the town, finding out about the environmentally-friendly goings-on and stopping off at a few places for some exclusive Story Walk discounts.
22/02/2022
Settle Hydro was featured on More4 last night. The programme was called 'The Pennines - Backbone of Britain, and can be viewed in catch-up at https://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-pennines-backbone-of-britain
In addition to Settle Hydro, the programme also featured Skipton Auction Mart and The Three Peaks.
20/02/2022
The dramatic effect of heavy rain coupled with snowmelt on already highly saturated ground. An extremely high River Ribble this morning at Settle!!
https://www.yorkshiredalesguides.co.uk/webcam-and-weather-conditions
16/02/2022
Settle Hydro will be featured in a TV documentary on Monday 21st February. Don't miss 'The Pennines: Backbone of Britain' at 9pm on More4 ...
17/12/2021
‘Strange and irritating’ noise from Yorkshire river and bizarre lines on water mystify residents A mystery noise emitting from the River Ribble has drawn complaints from residents as the team from Yorkshire hydro scheme Settle Hydro scrambled to get to the bottom of the baffling sound.
05/12/2021
The Settle Hydro team are delighted to have passed the immense milestone of having generated 1,000,000 kWh of clean, green, renewable energy generated since the hydro was commissioned in January 2010.
05/12/2021 Settle Hydro passes 1 MILLION kWh milestone! Settle Hydro - a pioneering, community hydroelectric scheme generating funds for local community projects from the River Ribble in Settle in the Yorkshire Dales.
River Ribble at Settle weir this afternoon ....
05/06/2020
CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN TO RAISE £15,000
Coinciding with today, we are launching our crowdfunding campaign to raise funds to make more robust repairs to the weir head. The planned works will improve both the efficiency of the turbine and improve the passage of migrating fish along the fish pass.
A more efficient weir will not only help fish reach their spawning grounds upriver, it will also allow the turbine to take in a more consistent level of water and generate more electricity.
We are aiming to raise £15,000 for the repairs, which are over and above the ongoing overheads of maintaining the Hydro.
Emergency repairs to the weir head were made in 2018 (with the approval of the Environment Agency) to prevent the weir failing, but a more permanent repair to the weir head is required. The unprecedented low level of the river this Spring makes this an optimum time for the work to be carried out if we can raise the additional funds promptly
You can donate safely to the fund here through GoFundMe:
Weir raising funds to help fish. organized by Matt Cornish Settle Hydro would like to make repairs to the weir head at Bridge End Mill, Settle, on … Matt Cornish needs your support for Weir raising funds to help fish.
01/05/2020
River Ribble has gone into lockdown ....
23/03/2020
Nice to have some good news in these difficult times ....
Wet February saw record power output at Settle Hydro THE recent spell of wet weather resulted in a record February for power generation at the volunteer run Settle Hydro - with another good month…
23/03/2020
Wet February Saw Record Power Generation At Settle Hydro The recent spell of wet weather saw a record February for power generation by Settle Hydro.
Settle Hydro was formally registered as an ‘Industrial & Provident Society for the Benefit of the Community’ on 24th June 2008. The Hydro Electric Scheme was built during 2009 and the first electricity was generated in January 2010.
Settle Hydro was one of the first community-owned hydro-electric schemes to be commissioned in the United Kingdom. The company was an innovator both in its use of Archimedean screw technology to generate electricity from a low head of water (Bridge End Weir) and in its adoption of an ‘Industrial and Provident Society for the Benefit of the Community’ as the structure for running the enterprise. Both the technology and the company structure have subsequently been copied and developed by the many schemes that have followed in our footsteps.
Settle Hydro delivers ‘benefit to the community’ in a number of ways:
It generates clean, green, renewable energy thus making a positive local contribution to reducing carbon emissions.
It has the potential to raise significant funds which can be used to support local community organisations.
It provides the town with an additional attraction which makes Settle more appealing to visitors who support the local economy by spending money with local businesses.
It provides an invaluable educational resource which can be used by local schools for raising awareness of renewable energy, industrial heritage, salmon migration, community businesses etc.
It provides an innovative means for local community members to work together to achieve positive benefits for the area.