Three small wind turbines and a battery back-up system have been installed by Evance at the 500 year old Kirkstone Pass Inn in the Lake District National Park.
The project aims to beat crippling fuel costs to help the inn remain open for business. The inn is not on mains grid electricity and previously relied on expensive diesel generators for all electrical power – resulting in diesel bills last year totalling some £25,000. With the Evance small wind turbines the owner can now take advantage of the inn’s remote location – at the summit of the Cumbrian Kirkstone Pass – and harness the power of the wind.
Owner John Jennings explained, “We simply had to look at alternative power sources or face inevitable closure. Although we are in a remote location, we wanted a solution appropriate for use within a National Park and one that would let us generate electricity in a more environmentally friendly way. Using the energy generated by Evance’s turbines we are committed to cutting our diesel bills by at least 75%.”
“I’ve been pleasantly surprised that the majority of visitors haven’t even noticed the turbines until they have been pointed out. New green technology powering an iconic historic inn is proving to be an interesting talking point at the bar,” Jennings added.
Diesel generators produce a lot of carbon waste, as well as being noisy, so generating power using the turbines will dramatically reduce the use of diesel. The turbines alone will reduce the inn’s CO2 emissions by over 22 tonnes per year.
“The Evance wind turbines installed at The Kirkstone Pass Inn are small (just 12m high towers) and are the result of a detailed consultation process with the Lake District National Park, where it was felt that it was more appropriate to deploy three small turbines rather than a single much larger one,” added Mark Meth-Cohn of MMC Engineering Services, installers of the Evance turbines.
“We’re delighted that the inn – like so many other remote rural businesses and homes – chose R9000 small wind turbines to deliver a clear financial and environmental improvement on their existing energy generating systems,“ commented Kevin Parslow, CEO of Evance Wind Turbines. “It’s good to know that this historic inn will be there for visitors in the years to come.”
