IT IS to be hoped that an initiative in Teesdale to generate power from renewable sources is successful.

The initiative - the Teesdale renewable energy challenge - has a long term, and ambitious, target of meeting all the dale's energy needs locally. The idea that an area could be self-sufficient in energy is very attractive. It could mean, for example, no need for overhead power lines - a matter of great interest to many folk in North Yorkshire - which apart from being an eyesore are relatively inefficient.

It is, of course, important to place this challenge in context. Teesdale is a area of approximately 25,000 souls with a tiny industrial base. It doesn't need much power.

But nevertheless, if the dale could harness the potential energy held in its six reservoirs or that of the wind, which is an almost ever-present weather feature of its more exposed parts, it would represent a huge achievement, bringing benefits to the dale and elsewhere.

Wind farms are not without their critics, with one local example failing at the planning stage because of environmental objections based upon what it would look like on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales national park. But there are other sources of renewable energy which do not rely on geography or wind to provide the power.

"New" crops such as willow and "old" crops grown in conventional forests also offer alternatives which mean other rural areas can hope to try similar challenges if Teesdale is successful.