In a quiet corner of the Blenheim Palace estate, Cabability Brown had no idea that he was designing what could one day be a significant Hydropower resource to supply homes within the estate with electricity.
The Bladon Cascade, situated at the confluence of the river Glyme and the Evenlode, is 3.2m height and given the flows in the Glyme, has the potential to generate in the region of 78,000kWh/yr from a 15kW Closed Compact Archimedean Screw system.
The hydropower scheme will provide the estate a financial return and saving worth in the region of £19,000 – £26,000 per annum providing a 10% ROI whilst reducing carbon emissions by more than 42,000kg/yr.
An environmental enhancement plan has been designed alongside the scheme which will open up a large area alongside the Evenlode for fish spawning within renewed gravels as well as local woodland habitat improvements.
Currently this area of the park is closed to visitors though it is hoped that following the installation, the Bladon lake and hydro scheme can be opened up to the general public to increase visitors and compliment the estate’s environmental outlook.
