A hydro power resource model for north west England

The British landscape historically has provided energy from flowing water. In the north west of England the distribution of human settlements was in part determined by the drainage systems for the operation of water wheels. Through the twentieth century the use of hydro power declined in the region, but with our current energy crisis a number of options are being revisited. A model which is being developed to identify the potential to exploit energy from flowing water and addresses the barriers to deployment of turbines is described. The system integrates information from several disciplines and takes a wider landscape perspective to produce outputs to advise different users and encourage development.