Hydro project comes under scrutiny
A public meeting was held in Newbury on Monday over plans to create a hydroelectric facility in the town
PLANS to kickstart a hydroelectric facility in the canal near Victoria Park, Newbury, as part of a ‘Big Society' community project came under scrutiny at a public meeting on Monday.
Mark Knight, of Kiln Road, Newbury, got the idea to construct a hydroelectric facility in the Kennet and Avon Canal that would generate electricity to feed into the national grid following discussions on the Newburytoday.co.uk forum, and he called a public meeting that was held at the town council offices in Market Place.
During the meeting, West Berkshire councillor Roger Hunneman (Lib Dem, Victoria) said that the capital costs, when compared to the potential electricity generating capacity of a scheme in the Kennet and Avon has always proved prohibitive.
But Newbury resident Simon Kirby said that the costs could potentially be dramatically reduced if most of the work was carried out by skilled members of the community.
He said: “We have all the skills right here in Newbury and if we can pull that together, we can really turn it into a much more viable project.”
Some of Newbury's electricity supply came from a hydro generator at Greenham Mill in the 1900s and similar hydro projects have previously been suggested by both Newbury Town Council and West Berkshire Council, although these have never materialised, despite feasibility studies being carried out.
During the meeting, various different design possibilities were discussed, including a water wheel and so-called Archimedes screws, which see the water flow through a turbine.
Problems with disturbing the course of the waterway was also discussed and Mr Hunneman advised Mr Knight that serious consideration would have to be taken about what type of legal entity would be formed to represent the project.
Mr Knight said that he would now take all these matters into account and consider the future of the project, after which further meetings will be held to discuss the outline of the project in greater depth.
