Forest Pennant, the company that supplies Forest of Dean pennant paving and building stone, are leading the way in sustainability by developing a hydroelectric project at their works in the Forest of Dean.

The plant will generate 13.5kW of electricity, about 70% of the company’s requirement for processing the stone, significantly reducing their carbon footprint and, they say, making them the most environmentally friendly stoneworks in the UK. At night, when the works are shut, they will sell the electricity generated to the National Grid.

Forest Pennant can thank their Victorian predecessors for creating the infrastructure of Cannop Ponds that they plan to use for the project. Cannop Ponds were created to power the largest water wheel in the country, used to drive the machines in what was then an iron works.

Forest Pennant Director Simon Hart says it will cost £70-80,000 to build the generator, which will mean it has a pay-back period of about five years. A grant of £12,000 has been made towards the costs by the South West Regional Development Agency. It should start generating electricity in the autumn this year.

The Environment Agency, Natural England, RSPB and The Forestry Commission were consulted during the research phase and all parties fully support this innovation.

Simon says: “Local authorities ask us for the BREEAM rating of our stone, but it’s nonsense because that considers overburden as waste.”