A water turbine installed to power a Co Clare hotel became a key source of income during pandemic-related closures. The Falls Hotel, located on the fast-flowing River Inagh in Ennistymon, installed a new 220-kilowatt hydroelectric turbine to power its 140 bedrooms and other facilities in 2018.
However, when the family-run hotel was hit by Covid-19 closures, the turbine also became a source of money, as well as power.
General manager Michael McCarthy said: "Over the past two years, we've been opening and closing, opening and closing. So the turbine generated more power than we were using.
And when we were closed, it was probably the only thing that was making money for the hotel." Mr McCarthy estimates that the hotel received €20,000 through sales of its electricity back to the national grid last year.