Archived press release

Government urged to boost community green energy projects

8 June 2008

The Government must provide financial incentives to harness the massive potential of community renewable energy generation, Friends of the Earth said today. The call comes as a giant hydrodynamic screw is lifted onto site in New Mills, Derbyshire, this Sunday (8 June) as part of the UK's first ever community-owned hydro power project.

The fish-friendly, welded steel hydrodynamic screw - 11m long and 2.6m wide - is a modernised version of the 2,000 year-old Archimedean screw, used in ancient times to transfer water into irrigation ditches.

The new version will generate 260,000 kWh of renewable energy every year, which will be used to power a local Co-op store - with any surplus energy sold to the National Grid.

Friends of the Earth is urging the Government to exploit the UK's huge potential for community renewable energy projects. The environmental campaigning group is calling for the Energy Bill to be amended to require energy companies to give long-term contracts that would guarantee a premium price for all renewable energy generated by homes, businesses and communities.

The scheme, known as a feed-in tariff, would make renewable technologies significantly more cost-effective to install. Friends of the Earth's Energy Campaigner, Nick Rau said:

"This is a fantastic example of a community taking the initiative to cut carbon dioxide emissions by harnessing a clean, green renewable energy source. The potential for this kind of project is enormous - but the Government must provide a financial incentive to encourage their development."

"Ministers must amend the Energy Bill to guarantee a premium payment to homes, businesses and communities for installing small-scale clean energy systems, and help kick-start a green energy revolution."

The Managing Director of Water Power Enterprises, Steve Welsh, who is leading the project on behalf of Torrs Hydro New Mills Ltd said:

"I can't quite believe that, literally, the driving force for the project is now in place. It's taken a lot of hard work and commitment from the founding directors of THNM, New Mills Town Council, The Peak District National Park, The Co-operative Group, East Midlands Development Agency and all the people who bought shares to get where we are today, but it just shows what can be done. It's fantastic to think that we're breathing new life into the Torrs and at the same time producing renewable electricity for years to come."

Notes

1. Feed-in tariff schemes operate in seventeen European countries. The scheme has been especially successful in Germany, which now has 200 times more solar power and over ten times more wind power than the UK and employs 250,000 people in renewable energy - compared with just 7,000 in the UK.

2. So far 279 MPs, including over 100 Labour MPs, have signed a Parliamentary petition (Early Day Motion) asking for the Energy Bill to be amended to include a feed in tariff for small scale renewables, making it the second most supported petition in the current Parliament out of more than 1400 that have been tabled.

3. The hydrodynamic screw - weighing a total of 11.3 tonnes and painted green to blend in with its natural surroundings - is being transported to Derbyshire overland from Germany. On Sunday 8 June it will be hoisted by crane from the Union Road Bridge, New Mills, and installed in the river Goyt. Water from the existing weir will be channelled down the screw, causing it to rotate to provide a source of renewable energy. The first electricity will be generated in the early autumn and will be sold to a local Co-op. Any surplus energy will be sold to the National Grid. The coalition group Torrs Hydro Mills Ltd will use the income received to provide grants for local community projects.

4. Torrs Hydro New Mills is the first community hydro scheme in the UK financed through a local share offer. The scheme is supported by High Peak Friends of the Earth. More information at www.torrshydro.co.uk[1] and www.torrs-hydro-new-mills.blogspot.com[2].

5. Water Power Enterprises (h2oPE) is a social enterprise whose aim is to reduce carbon emissions by setting up small-scale hydropower projects that benefit both the environment and local communities. Water Power Enterprises (h2oPE) initiated and project manages Torrs Hydro New Mills.

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust