Scottish Water is testing an innovative 'plug and play' hydropower technology at its Shieldhall Wastewater Treatment Works in Glasgow. The trial aims to capture renewable energy from existing water and wastewater flows.

The publicly-owned utility has partnered with the Fish Friendly Hydropower Company (FFH) and WGM Engineering to test a pioneering floating turbine. The technology is capable of generating renewable electricity at both water and wastewater sites without requiring significant modifications to existing infrastructure.

As part of the pilot, FFH's PicoStream turbine has been installed at Shieldhall, which is one of the largest wastewater treatment facilities in Scotland. The system is designed to harvest energy from water moving through the standard treatment processes, providing around-the-clock renewable electricity from flows that would typically go unused.

The trial is the result of a collaborative innovation project facilitated by the Hydro Nation Chair. The initiative involved Scottish Water, WGM Engineering, Zero Waste Scotland, RMAS, and the universities of Edinburgh and Stirling. The partners explored circular economy opportunities within the water and wastewater sector, identifying the PicoStream turbine as a source of continuous renewable energy that could be deployed rapidly without major structural changes.

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Fraser Simpson, Product Owner, Major Projects at Scottish Water, said: "Scottish Water is committed to exploring innovative solutions that help reduce our carbon footprint and contribute towards the energy resilience of our sites, while continuing to deliver high quality, reliable services on our journey towards Net Zero."

Sam Maitland, Managing Director of Fish Friendly Hydropower Company Ltd, said: "This trial is a major step forward in demonstrating how simple, low-impact hydropower can play a meaningful role in the transition to net zero. There is huge, untapped energy in water infrastructure, and technologies like PicoStream allow us to capture that energy quickly, cost-effectively, and with minimal disruption.

"It is great working with WGM Engineering in close collaboration with Scottish Water who, I believe, are leading the charge to Net Zero within the UK water sector."

Jason Cramb, Director at WGM Engineering Ltd, said: "WGM are thrilled to be partnering with FFH to deliver this pioneering and sustainable technology to the water industry and showcasing how innovation, engineering expertise and new technology can come together to unlock practical renewable energy solutions."

Should the trial prove successful, the system could be deployed across other Scottish Water assets to increase renewable energy generation from current infrastructure and support the utility's net zero targets.