Osney Lock Hydro performance
Osney Lock Hydro aims to generate 186,000kWh of clean electricity each year. That’s enough to power more than 60 typical homes.
Hydro generation is dependent on rainfall. It varies considerably from one year to the next. The average for our first eight full years of generating was 164,000kWh. An additional 6,665kWh of green electricity should be generated annually by the solar panels on the roof of the power house.
There were some carbon dioxide emissions from the construction of the scheme. But once operational this type of hydro has one of the lowest carbon footprints of all electricity-generation technologies, emitting very little or no carbon dioxide.
Hydro generation to date
| Time period – by financial year (1 April to 31 March) | Electricity generation |
| First 12 months of operation (to 18 May 2016) | 143,365 kWh |
| 2015/16………………………………………………………………………. | 98,318 kWh |
| 2016/17………………………………………………………………………. | 225,137 kWh |
| 2017/18………………………………………………………………………. | 124,891 kWh |
| 2018/19………………………………………………………………………. | 194,330 kWh |
| 2019/20………………………………………………………………………. | 125,761 kWh |
| 2020/21………………………………………………………………………. | 170,882 kWh |
| 2021/22………………………………………………………………………. | 244,000 kWh |
| 2022/23………………………………………………………………………. | 104,901 kWh |
| 2023/24………………………………………………………………………. 2024/25………………………………………………………………………. | 124,578 kWh 156,480 kWh |
| Total generation to date | 1,569,278 kWh |
Generating income
Electricity generated by the hydro is sold to the Environment Agency to power its local depot. Any surplus is exported into the National Grid. For the first 20 years of the scheme, additional income results from the feed-in tariff. Income is used to cover the project running costs and has allowed us to pay off a short-term loan. It also enables us to make interest payments to investors, without whose support the project would not be possible.
Generating funds for community initiatives
All our profits are put to use for the benefit of the community. We fund projects that help reduce energy use, support biodiversity and contribute to a more sustainable future. This ensures that the impact of the hydro scheme reaches beyond that of providing green electricity.
Find us on the People’s Power Station
We are likely to be operating if the river flow is over 5.5m3/sec at the Farmoor gauging station.
Technical
Osney Lock Hydro is a 49kW run-of-river hydroelectric generator located on the small island adjacent to Osney Lock in Oxford. It is based on an Archimedean screw hydropower system, chosen for its efficiency, robust design, low noise and ‘fish friendliness’.