Going off grid at Gibson Mill
50% renewable: Going off grid
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What's a tonne of carbon?
- 452 litres of petrol
- 15 months' electricity supply for an average British home
- Carbon stored in a 40-year-old oak tree
- Enough paper to print 52 copies of the entire Harry Potter series
- A one-way economy flight from London to Dallas
- 57 nights in an average British hotel
Source: DEFRA emissions factors, in combination with some standard assumptions and research.
Doing your bit
Gibson Mill: a history of innovation
Since the restoration of Gibson Mill started in 2005, we’ve made several exciting green energy milestones, which has brought this 17th-century mill into the 21st century. We worked with renewable energy firm Dulas to restore and reinstate the cotton mill’s original hydro turbine.
Today water turbines and roof-mounted solar panels provide almost all the power for the site and café. A biomass boiler, fed with sustainably-sourced woodchip, provides hot water. Food waste is composted on-site and tiger worms are used to compost waste from the toilets.
With no connection to the National Grid, energy is stored in batteries for when it's needed most. But just like household rechargeable batteries, they lose their ability to store as much power over time, and at times there’s been insufficient power to fully run the café.