Ten years of 'green' energy

THE OSNEY LOCK HYDRO has been producing 'green' energy from the Thames for ten years.

And was the first community-owned hydro to be built on the river, Roger Fox reports.

It produces an average of 165MWh of electricity each year, that will power 60 homes and is operated by volunteers with technical support from a contractor.

Local community

The money for the building of the hydro was raised from members of the local community through a series of share offers.  It of course uses the flowing water of the Thames to drive turbines, that produce electricity.

Unlike solar panels that only produces power during the day and wind turbines only when there is a strong wind, hydro power is continuous all the time.

All the electricity generated at the Osney site is consumed by the community on Osney Island and the Environment Agency.