Green power

Kilnsey Park Estate prides itself on being one of the greenest, most environmentally friendly visitor attractions in the UK. We generate our own electricity, heat our buildings naturally and are taking active steps to minimise our water consumption. We want to keep the Yorkshire Dales as pure and pristine as it’s always been, and we work hard to minimise our impact on the environment.

On the Kilnsey Trail you can see our different green technologies and learn about how we generate heat and power using water and the sun.

Using two water-driven turbines we are able to generate enough power to supply the whole site including the cafe, shop and fish farm buildings. Solar panels on Sikes Barn are also another way that we create electricity from the sun.

Did you know? Kilnsey Park is self-sufficient in electricity and sells its surplus electricity back to the National Grid. A recent audit of our carbon use by Green Tourism rated us as Excellent,  generating just 0.1o kg of carbon dioxide per visitor.

Kilnsey Park makes use of other green technologies to supply eco-friendly energy. We have installed water heat pumps to heat Sikes Barn holiday accommodation and the main café/shop building. We recently installed a biomass boiler on the Estate which heats three houses using wood pellets. So we don’t need to feel too guilty when we turn up the heating!

Did you know? We generate enough electricity to boil 250 kettles at the same time.

The main hydropower turbine was installed at Kilnsey Park in 2001 by Anthony Roberts, father of the current owner. It was refurbished in 2010 to improve its performance. A second turbine was opened in 2013.

Locally produced energy isn’t new to Kilnsey Park.  Back in 1933 Kilnsey Park had its own hydro-electric generator. The original turbine was commissioned by William Roberts, grandfather of the present owner. The old turbine house and dam still remain from the original scheme.