A LAKE District hotel is spearheading a renewable energy project to generate its own power using a hydro-electric turbine.

English Lakes Hotels Resorts & Venues is installing the turbine at its flagship site on Windermere, Low Wood Bay Resort & Spa which will use natural water resources and gravity.

The water that runs down the fell behind the building will be used to generate an estimated 180 MWh annually, which equates to around 33% of the spa resort’s current electricity usage.

Tim Berry from English Lakes Hotels Resorts & Venues explains: “Drawing on sustainable, local natural resources to generate electricity is something we’ve been keen to investigate and adopt.

“A hydro-electric turbine is probably the simplest and most effective green energy generating method, with minimal environmental impact.

“Water will be diverted down an 860 metre pipeline from the top of the fell, running through the turbine to generate electricity before flowing back into the beck.

“The turbine will constantly generate a power output of 55-60 kilowatts.

We’re confident this will provide up to a third of the electricity supply we currently need to run the whole resort at Low Wood Bay.

“Working with GPHL and Ellergreen Hydro, our aim is to ensure we meet the most stringent environmental standards and at the same time achieve an industry leading exemplar of sustainable engineering. We’re also looking into ‘air source’ and ‘lake source’.”