The Board of Directors for Reading Hydro CBS are pleased to announce that the twin reverse-archimedes hydroelectric turbines based by Caversham Weir, Reading, as of Monday 8th December 2025, have generated a total of 1 gigawatt hour’s worth of energy for the benefit of Reading’s community.
A gigawatt hour (GWh) is a measure of the cumulative energy generated by the screws since they started turning at the beginning of operations in September 2021. So whilst the turbines themselves are rated at 23kW electrical output each for a total generating capacity at Caversham of 46kW, the total output over time is also measured to determine how much clean energy has been fed into the grid, and thereby has offset emissions from fossil fuel generation. A gigawatt hour is a lot of energy – it is the equivalent of 1,000,000 kWh, and is enough energy for…
- powering 250 homes for a year, or
- providing 10,000 charges for an electric vehicle, or
- cooking 125,000 roast dinners at Christmas
This milestone also marks an offset of 490 tonnes of CO2 emissions from gas powered electricity, all of which is made possible from our clean, renewable hydroelectricity.
This generation milestone could not have been reached without the generous support of our volunteers, shareholders, and the wider Reading community, for who our Community Benefit Society is formed to support. In particular, we thank our good friends at the Thames Lido, whose partnership is gratefully appreciated, as well as all those who spare their time to make Reading Hydro an enduring success.
Neil Bonner, Communications Director, marking this occasion, says:
“I would like to thank and celebrate the dedication and efforts that our entirely volunteer team has provided, to enable us to reach this milestone achievement”
Reading Hydro looks forward to working towards our next gigawatt hour with this continued support.
With thanks,
The Board of Directors
Reading Hydro CBS
Notes
The following assumptions have been made about the above figures:
- A typical household uses 4kWh a day, per year
- Each electric vehicle is equipped with a 100 kWh battery pack
- An electric oven is used for 120 minutes, equivalent to ~8kWh
- A gas-fired power plant emits 490g CO2 per kWh generated via electricity generation