Groundbreaking hydropower project completed in South Lanarkshire

Work on a groundbreaking project to harness hydropower from waste water has been completed by Scottish Water, supporting its drive to achieve net zero emissions by 2040.

The first of its kind in the UK, the scheme has seen the installation of a hydro turbine at Hamilton Waste Water Treatment Works in South Lanarkshire and is expected to generate 0.42GWh of green electricity each year – the equivalent of boiling around 1.8 million kettles annually.

Developed and delivered by Scottish Water’s commercial subsidiary Scottish Water Horizons, the project will offset around 13 per cent of the treatment work’s annual electricity demand. It is the first prefabricated hydro scheme to be installed ‘mid-process’ at a waste water treatment works in the UK, with waste water flowing through a hydro-electric generator within the pipeline of the plant.

The hydro turbine is anticipated to cut carbon emissions by around 64 tonnes each year, the same amount as a passenger jet flying from Glasgow to Sydney, Australia 13 times.

Using off-site construction methods also helped to reduce the carbon footprint associated with construction of the scheme and condensed the time required onsite.

Neil Beaumont, Horizons Hydro Energy Team Lead, said: “We are delighted to see this pioneering project now complete and in operation. It is a great example of how Scottish Water is being creative and looking at how we can utilise all the assets across our portfolio to achieve our net zero ambitions.

“This is the first project of this kind delivered at a Scottish Water waste water facility, whereas previous hydro efforts have focused on our water assets. Waste water treatment is a huge part of what Scottish Water does and there so much opportunity in this area to be bold and innovative when it comes to looking at cutting our carbon emissions and optimising our generation of green energy.

“Taking novel approaches like this will go a long way towards helping us achieve net zero emissions by 2040 and beyond, deliver service excellence, and create greener communities.”

Scottish Water Operations Team Lead for the area, Craig Causer, said: “The treatment works at Hamilton serve around 57,000 people and have a high electrical consumption. By generating green energy from what is typically regarded as a waste product, we are helping deliver a waste water service to local communities with a lower carbon footprint. Not only does this help reduce our reliance on grid electricity, it also helps reduce our on-site energy costs.”

The scheme was delivered by local renewable energy solutions specialists FES Support Services Ltd on behalf of Scottish Water Horizons and joins a growing portfolio of water and waste water treatment works that are now either self-sufficient or partly sufficient in generating their own power requirements.