A NORTH Tawton-based organisation which recently won a commendation for its study on hydropower potential on Dartmoor is hoping its work will spark interest amongst landowners on the moor. The Devon Association for Renewable Energy (DARE) received the award from Eurosolar (UK), a European organisation working to promote awareness of renewable energy across the EU. DARE?s research, funded by the Dartmoor Sustainable Development Fund, SWEB Green Energy Fund and the Devon Small Grants Fund, involved surveying all the Dartmoor rivers and speaking to many moorland landowners who had watercourses within their properties. The Eurosolar judges? citation commended the report for ?making hydropower accessible to all? ? the award being accepted on behalf of DARE by director and co-author of the report Richard Pymm and scientist Tom Furness. Paul Baker, managing director of DARE, said: ?Since completing the report, two Dartmoor landowners have started to install micro-hydro schemes and DARE has been commissioned to undertake a number of surveys for landowners wanting to develop hydropower on their land.? Mr Baker said there was ?a lot of potential? for developing small-scale hydropower installations on the moor ? and DARE was able to help landowners who felt their watercourses might be suitable. ?We have developed a questionnaire which we will send out to people. We will look at the results and try and identify if sites are obvious non-starters or if it looks like there could be a possibility of something worthwhile, we can give them an idea of ballpark figures for setting up a scheme,? said Mr Baker, who said the initial questionnaire was free, although the organisation had to make a small charge for follow-up work. ?There are a whole range of forms of renewable energy which can be utilised. As much as anything we are about raising awareness of the options available to people, even on a particularly sensitive environment like Dartmoor. If we can do it there, we can do it anywhere,? he said. DARE, a not-for-profit organisation set up in 2001, aims to facilitate and promote production and use of renewable energy in Devon, providing a forum for discussion and exchange of information. Any Dartmoor landowners interested in investigating the possibilities of renewable power on their land can see the hydropower report on DARE?s website at http://www.devondare.org">www.devondare.org, it can be purchased from DARE, 12a The Square, North Tawton, Devon EX20 2EP for £10.00, or call 01837 89200. Grants are available to support innovative new ideas for better ways of living in, working on or visiting the moor from the Dartmoor Sustainable Development Fund. For information, call the sustainable development fund officer at Dartmoor National Park Authority, 01626 831067.