The Green Valleys project in the Brecon Beacons, which generates power from 10 wild mountain streams and aims to make the Brecon area a net exporter of electricity, has won (one of three) awards for helping to a £1m prize for saving carbon emissions at the local level, from Nesta, a lottery-funded body, which encourages innovation in the UK.
The Green Valleys project uses small scale hydro-power which does not rely on a traditional dam, but uses what’s called micro-hydro, which actually diverts up to 50% of a stream's flow into buried pipes that lead to camouflaged generators.
The Green Valleys project plans to build 40 more of such micro-power stations. Nesta estimates that with advice from energy advice surgeries, super-efficient vehicles and wood-burning stoves, 13 local communities in Brecon have cut carbon emissions by about 20% in a year.
The Green Valleys project (which was established in May 2009) is a not for profit Community Interest Company based in the Brecon Beacons National Park, which takes ideal geography and topography for small scale hydro-electric generation by making use of the small streams and steep sided valleys within the National Park area.
The project was Wales' only finalist in NESTA's Big Green Challenge competition. This is creative thinking, combined with local ownership which is benefiting the local community - another excellent example of people motivating themselves.
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