At our July monthly meeting, we had a talk at Derby U3A yesterday about Hydro Power in the Derwent Valley.  Darley Abbey Weir was one of the weirs which a group would like to use to harness the power from

I then noticed that Darley Abbey Weir has been given protected status this year, see: http://heritagecalling.com/2015/06/17/just-listed-20-unusual-places-given-protected-status-this-year/

Darley Abbey weir Derbyshire. Grade II

Darley Abbey is in the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site – a 24km stretch of pioneering industrial mills. The valley’s abundant water supply was the reason for the location of a series of historic textile mills, and the construction of massive weirs to control the flow of the River Derwent demanded major engineering skills. Darley Abbey weir was constructed in 1782 and is 110m in length: a two-part structure with a concave shape curving upstream.

Also see Derby Telegraph article about Hydro Power in Derbyshire: http://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/New-map-charts-Derwent-sites-future-hydro-electric-power-plants/story-11572699-detail/story.html