The K Club, in Co. Kildare, has become the first hydropowered five-star hotel in Ireland by harnessing the power of the River Liffey.
The generator was originally installed more than a century ago by the Barton family, the then owners of the estate, to supply electricity to Straffan House (the original house at the heart of what is now the K Club Hotel).
“Although the original equipment was disused, the original turbine, gearbox, and 45kW generator were in surprisingly good condition, showing the quality of the engineering, which was built to last,” said Robert Quirke, managing director at Eco Hydro.
“Through restoring and reactivating this part of our country’s history, we have made the K Club one of Ireland’s most sustainable hotels – not bad for a solution which all fits inside a garden shed!”
To meet the modern-day energy demands of a luxury five-star hotel, the weir located along the K Club’s 550-acre mile-long stretch of the River Liffey needed modernising.
Michael Fetherston, the owner of the K Club, enlisted the help of Eco Hydro to restore and improve the structure, making it fit for purpose. The new, advanced Eco Hydro unit, which replaces the old equipment, achieves 92% efficiency.
The new generator will now produce 90kW of continuous power when in operation, which represents over 70% of the total energy requirements of the hotel.
“We have a piece of that history right here on our estate. We firmly believe that it’s our responsibility to monitor the energy that we use, find innovative ways to reduce our estate’s energy consumption, and switch to renewable energy sources wherever possible,” said Paul Heery, the K Club’s general manager.
“Taking our lead from the original weir struck us as not only an obvious undertaking, but also a means of honouring the K Club’s rich legacy whilst transforming it into a modern-day solution.”
