Beeston Hydroelectric Power Station development

Beeston Hydro Scheme is one of the largest low head hydro schemes in the UK following construction completion in December 1999. The pound3.5m project on the River Trent which has been undertaken by Hyder Industrial Ltd can generate 1.3 MW of electricity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by some 5000 tonnes per annum from displaced fossil fuel generation. The development is in a 'green belt', flood plain area and as a consequence has been constructed predominantly underground to prevent the obstruction of flood flow and minimise visual impact. This presented several design and construction issues which have been overcome by an innovative and creative approach. The main construction area was surrounded by an enclosed coffer dam (Fig. 1) to minimise the likelihood of flooding during the construction phase. The scheme incorporates two bulb turbines manufactured by Esac Energie of France. Each turbine is capable under ideal conditions of developing 650kW of electricity. The scheme was procured using a multi contract strategy with Hyder Industrial managing all Contract interfaces and overall scheme programme.