The site was previously used as a water mill from the 1790s up until 1966, when the mill that worked cotton, Greenholme Mill, went out of business.[1] In 2010, a joint venture between Derwent Hydro Power (DHP) and Trade Link Solutions (TLS), developed a new turbine on the site to generate electricity from the water passing through the old mill race.[2] The old mill race was diverted slightly, but cuts a path east of the River Wharfe whilst the main body of the river curves north east and then around to the south in a horseshoe shape.[3] The mill race had silted up and had to be cleared before the new turbine plant could generate power.[4]
The plant generates enough electricity to power between 300–340 homes per year, from a flow of 350 cubic feet (10 m3) per second and saves over 640 tonnes (710 tons) of carbon dioxide emissions being pumped into the environment each year.[5] The capacity of the plant is 1,400 MWh per year.[6] At the same time as the turbine house was being built, a fish pass was installed to help with the bio-diversity of the river.[7]
The plant at Burley is the fourth scheme of its kind to be built on the River Wharfe after Linton Falls re-opened near Grassington and a similar scheme to the one at Burley opened in 2010 at Pool-in-Wharfedale, though the one at Pool has a third of the generating capacity (100 Kwh).[8] A fourth plant was reconditioned at an old papermill at Garnett Wharfe in Otley in 2016 as part of an estate build of 240 homes.[9] Garnett Wharfe has a similar power output to Burley.[10]
Whereas other schemes have used Archimedes' screws in a reverse direction (IE the water flowing through downstream turns the screws and generates electricity), the turbine plant at Burley houses a Kaplan Turbine, which means the water flowing through turns two blades and as it does so, it changes pressure. This requires the inward flow to always have a good head of water.[11] Measures have taken to prevent water loss at Burley even though the turbine will not work when there is a low flow of water such as in a dry summer.[12]
The plant was opened by Phillip Davies MP in August 2011 and is designed to feed electricity into the National Grid.[13]
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