Reading Hydro is a micro hydroelectric scheme in

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

, England. It is located on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the ...

, at the upstream end of

View Island View Island is a small island near Caversham Lock, on the River Thames at Reading, Berkshire in England.Caversham Lock Caversham Lock is a lock and main weir on the River Thames in England at Reading, Berkshire. Both the lock and main weir are connected to De Bohun Island (colloquially known as Lock Island). The Thames Navigation Commissioners built the ...

. With a drop of about and an average water flow of per second, it can generate of electricity with its twin

archimedes screw turbine Archimedes of Syracuse (;; ) was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor from the ancient city of Syracuse in Sicily. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the leading scientists in ...

s. The scheme is owned and operated by the Reading Hydro CBS, a

community benefit society An industrial and provident society (IPS) is a body corporate registered for carrying on any industries, businesses, or trades specified in or authorised by its rules. The members of a society benefit from the protection of limited liability ...

that was founded in 2017, after some years of preparation. By 2018, planning permission had been granted and construction plans developed. Investment was raised through share offers to the local community, and the scheme was officially opened on 13 August 2021. The turbine house has been decorated on two sides with a mural by

Commando Jugendstil 40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force ...

, entitled ''Community Energym'', and representing the Reading Hydro community and the sustainable power the project will generate. A third side contains a rendition of ''

Warming Stripes Warming stripes (sometimes referred to as climate stripes, climate timelines or stripe graphics) are data visualization graphics that use a series of coloured stripes chronologically ordered to visually portray long-term temperature trends. Wa ...

'', a visual representations of the change in global temperature over the past 100+ years originally created by Professor Ed Hawkins of

Reading University The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

. Although the weir already had a

fish pass A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass, fish steps, or fish cannon is a structure on or around artificial and natural barriers (such as dams, locks and waterfalls) to facilitate diadromous fishes' natural migration as well as mo ...

, this was found to be too steep for many species of fish. As part of the approvals process for the hydro scheme, a new fish pass has been constructed on View Island in the form of a stream that crosses the island on a more natural sinuous course. Both the turbine house and the fish pass are readily accessible by the public footpath, locally known as ''The Clappers'', that crosses over both the lock and weir, and gives access to View Island.

Gallery

File:Reading Hydro (geograph 7093133).jpg, Seen from the weir File:Reading Hydro (geograph 7093135).jpg, Close up on the mural File:Fish weir at Caversham Lock (geograph 7093143).jpg, The new fish pass stream

References

External links

Reading Hydro web siteReading Hydro live data
{{Electricity generation in South East England, state=collapsed Buildings and structures in Reading, Berkshire Hydroelectric power stations in England Organisations based in Reading, Berkshire Power stations in South East England