Canal plan to power 45,000 homes
Local communities will be consulted on possible turbine and generator sites
Plans have been unveiled to power 45,000 homes with wind and hydro-electric turbines along Britain's historic canals and rivers.
British Waterways want to house 50 wind turbines and additional small-scale hydro schemes on land it owns over the next five years.
They say the scheme will raise more than £1m a year, which will be used for waterway upkeep.
The exact locations of the turbines have yet to be decided.
British Waterways, which is a public body in charge of the waterside land, was praised by its partner in the project for using its resources in an innovative and environmental way.
Partnerships for Renewables said the navigation authority was a "torchbearer for others to follow".
Yorkshire option
The £1m that will be raised will be used to help maintain and repair some of the 2,200 miles of canals, historic locks, bridges and rivers that the organisation looks after throughout the UK.
British Waterways' chief executive Robin Evans was delighted that the project will generate income and help with the government's renewable energy targets.
Mr Evans said that, whilst the authority is always protecting the canals and rivers' heritage, they are "proactively looking at how we can use this resource to make a contribution towards the fight against climate change.
"If we successfully develop this resource it would mean that the nation's canal network would generate more than 10 times more electricity than it consumes," he added.
The public corporation is now looking at potential locations for the turbines and generators.
One suitable site could be on the banks of the Aire and Calder navigation in Yorkshire.
A British Waterways spokesman told the BBC: "We are looking at radar and environmental issues first and then will engage with the local communities at suitable sites."
Environmentalists 'delighted'
Partnerships for Renewables, a privately-funded group that works with public bodies on renewable energy projects, will develop, construct and manage all the equipment at an estimated cost of £150m.
The private company hopes to create the capacity to power 230,000 homes from electricity on public land within five to eight years and this project would contribute to a fifth of that target.
Stephen Ainger, chief executive of Partnerships for Renewables, said, "It is great to see that British Waterways has demonstrated the vision to become a torch bearer for others to follow."
Friends of the Earth energy campaigner Nick Rau was delighted by British Waterways' plans.
Mr Rau said that "Community-scale renewable energy projects such as hydro-power schemes and wind turbines have a huge role to play in reducing our dependency on fossil fuels and helping Britain to develop a low-carbon economy."
The government had pledged to generate 15% of the UK's electricity from renewable sources by 2015, although some studies have shown this target may not be reached by then.
from the BBC website
