Who are h2ope

We are a social enterprise, a Community Interest Company. Our mission is to tackle global warming through small scale hydro, using the weirs that already exist on our rivers.

Hydroelectricity is generated by utilizing a head of water (the vertical drop in height of the river weir) and the volume of water flow in a river. The greater the head and flow of water, the more hydroelectricity can be generated. Multiply head and flow to get power.

h2ope develop viable river weirs for use as hydro sites. Our job is to obtain the necessary permissions, the finance, the contracts for equipment and civils work and to project manage construction and commissioning. We then hand over a completed site to its owners and watch over it through life to assure maximum financial return for clients. We have an ever deepening and broadening supply chain of people who think link us and a thorough understanding of technical and commercial design issues with a sensitivity to our environment and heritage.

Not all river weirs will be capable of being used. Some will have deteriorated too much or are too small to be useful; there will be access problems for construction traffic at other sites; landowners may not give approval. However, there are many other weirs, falls, sluices, barrages and dams in private and public ownership that offer excellent opportunities for developing a hydro scheme. With a government study claiming 8000 sites in England and Wales, there’s likely to be one near you now.