Plans are afoot to bring a 100-year-old derelict hydro-electric plant back into commission so it is capable of supplying electricity to the National Grid.

The project at Linton Falls, Grassington in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales, will involve new turbines being installed to the restored power house in order to create green energy.

According to the Yorkshire Dales National Park and English Heritage, the site is an important relic from early development of electricity supplies and is protected as a scheduled monument.

The power station was built in 1909 and generated electricity until Grassington got a mains power supply in 1948.

The two new Archimedean screws will be turned by water from the River Wharfe and will generate about 510,000 kilowatt hours of electricity each year, after work is completed - possibly as soon as next summer.

The scheme is being highlighted in Heritage Counts 2008, a new study published by English Heritage on behalf of the Yorkshire and Humber Historic Environment Forum which says wider recognition is also needed of the role of historic treasures in a lower carbon economy.

English Heritage and the Yorkshire Dales National Park are working with the site owners - the Skipton engineering firm JN Bentley of Skipton - to transform the plant. The national park said it has commissioned a survey to look at up to 50 other former mill sites to assess their potential for small hydro-electricity schemes.

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The implementation of the Energy Bill, which is currently going though its final Parliamentary stages, will increase the financial incentive for developing smaller scale renewable energy projects such as the Linton Falls hydro-electric scheme, as well as other low-carbon methods of electricity generation such as Fuel Cells. The Bill provides for Regulations to be introduced which would compel licensed electricity suppliers to purchase energy delivered to the grid by such plant at a guaranteed price. The introduction of so-called "feed-in tariffs" is widely regarded by many as essential to stimulate the growth of small scale low carbon generation at levels comparable to those achieved in countries such as Germany and Spain.

Morgan Cole provides specialist advice on all aspects of Energy and Environmental Law. Further advice and information on the Renewables Obligation and other financial incentives for low carbon heat and electricity production can be obtained from Paul Brennan.