Radyr Hydro Scheme is a 400kW small-scale

hydroelectric station Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and also m ...

located in

Radyr Radyr (; ) is an outer suburb of Cardiff, about northwest of Cardiff city centre. Radyr is part of Radyr and Morganstown Community, for which the 2011 Census recorded a population of 6,417. Morganstown is north of Radyr, on the other sid ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, Wales. The scheme makes use of the roughly 3.5m height difference created by Radyr Weir to push water through two , Archimedes

screw turbine file:Archimedes-screw one-screw-threads with-ball 3D-view animated smal back.gif, Reverse action of the Archimedean screw, the principle of the screw turbine gaining energy from water flowing down through the screw file:Helical screw single double ...

s. The scheme was constructed in 2015 by

Dawnus Dawnus was a British construction company. Established in 2001 the company grew rapidly in the early 2000s but collapsed into administration in 2019. The company had operations in the United Kingdom and West Africa. History Dawnus was founded ...

, being designed by Renewables First and operated by

Cardiff Council Cardiff Council, formally the County Council of the City and County of Cardiff () is the governing body for Cardiff, one of the Administrative divisions of Wales, principal areas of Wales. The principal area and its council were established ...

. During construction a temporary fish ladder was installed as construction work was likely to coincide with the peak of the upstream migration of salmon. Cardiff Council built the scheme to supply renewable electricity to 550 homes as part of a commitment to lower

carbon emissions Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities intensify the greenhouse effect. This contributes to climate change. Carbon dioxide (), from burning fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, oil, and natural gas, is the main cause of climate chan ...

and help Cardiff become a "one planet city" by 2050.

References

{{coord, 51.5194, -3.2538, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Hydroelectric power stations in Wales