Hydroelectric Power In Windsor and Maidenhead
16/06/2008

Npower Renewables Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of RWE 
Innogy (UK) Limited have applied for revised planning permission for a hydroelectric scheme, to be built at Romney Weir, between Windsor and Eton in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.

The revised project will utilise two hydrodynamic “Archimedes” screw turbines positioned in two bays of the weir. Construction is expected in 2009, with commencement of operation planned for the same year.

Around 1.4m kilowatt-hours of clean electricity will be generated each year, enough to meet the needs of 300 households. The scheme will contribute towards the Government’s target of achieving 15% of UK electricity needs from renewable energy sources by 2015.

Npower are working with Southeast Power Engineering Limited (“SPEL”), who introduced the new technology which now makes the project commercially viable. David DeChambeau of SPEL said: “the Archimedes screw style water pump has been in use for many centuries, dating as far back as 700BC when there is evidence of it’s use in Mesopotamia. Currently the Archimedes screw pump is used for flood control by the Environment Agency and for moving effluent through sewage treatment plants. The development of the Archimedes screw pump as a hydropower generation system is a logical extension to the pumping concepts. Its reverse approach is simple and extremely efficient . Instead of pumping water to a higher level, water is allowed to flow in the opposite direction from the high water side of the weir, down to the lower level of the weir pool. The weight of the water flowing down the system slowly rotates the screw, enabling the screw to extract up to 90% of the flowing waters energy in the process. This powerful rotational energy is then converted to completely carbon free electricity”.

Backed by Summit Asset Management Limited, Southeast Power Engineering Limited is a UK based hydropower development company specialising in creative and cost effective solutions to difficult hydropower challenges.

For more information about SPEL, contact them on +44 (0) 1932 883877. For further information about Summit Asset Management visit http://summitasset.co.uk or contact us on +44 (0) 1932 575888.

Further information on the Romney Weir Hydro Project can be found at www.npower-renewables.com. Npower Renewables is one of the UK’s leading renewable energy developers and operators, committed to developing and operating wind farms and hydro plants to produce sustainable and environmentally-friendly electricity. The company operates 16 hydroelectric power schemes and 19 wind farms in the UK, including the country’s first major offshore wind farm