Eco Evolution appointed agents in Ireland for Mann Power Consulting Ltd., the Archimedean Screw hydro turbine specialists in the UK. Mann Power are the sole UK authorised dealer for the Rehart range of Archimedean Screws manufactured in Germany.

A £1MILLION green scheme to turn Totnes Weir into a mini power station will be the biggest hydro-electric project of its kind in Europe.

The scheme — which could be in action powering up King Edward VI Community College by the beginning of 2012 — involves installing a four metre diameter Archimedean screw turbine to fill the 20-metre long sluice at one end of the centuries old town weir.

There are already 15 similar water-powered turbines operating in the UK and another 100 across Europe.

But the Totnes turbine’s size and its 200 kilowatt output would make it the biggest in Europe so far, revealed Dave Mann, the boss of Yorkshire company Mannpower.

 It would harness the power of the 13 tonnes a second of water that pours over the weir which would then be used to provide electricity for the classrooms of more than 1,800 pupils at what is one of the largest schools in Devon.

“We have calculated that it will produce as much power as the school uses,” Mr Mann explained as he outlined the project at a public meeting at the college.

A similar, but slightly smaller screw, was installed at the River Dart Country Park by Mr Mann’s company and has been powering the park successfully for the past three years.

A consortium of local investors, called the Dart Renewable Partnership, has already bought the weir from one-time Autotrader boss Malcolm Barrett for £75,000.

The deal included land next to the weir where there are proposals to build a small classroom complex which would be used as part of a KEVICC educational project involving power generation and the river environment.

Mr Mann aims to submit a planning application for the project next month and begin construction in July next year and the turbine could be producing power for the school and the national grid by early 2012.

Mannpower has already held talks with fishing organisations, owners of waterside properties, the Environment Agency and KEVICC.

Around 20 members of the public, local councillors and representatives of interested group were at a public exhibition outlining the project at KEVICC’s Ariel Centre.

The scheme also involves building a fish ladder up the weir for salmon and trout which spawn in the upper reaches of the Dart — and installing underwater cameras and fish counters to monitor the fish population.

Fish expert Peter Kibel explained that the current fish ladder was too long and too difficult for smaller fish, leaving them easy prey for seals which swim up river to take advantage of salmon and trout trapped in the weir.

It is also planned to remove the diagonal concrete ledge across the weir built as another aid for fish.

That will stop the force of the water being directed to one side of the river which has eroded the bank by 20ft in the past two decades.

This will allow water to pour over the weir in a more direct route and eventually wash away the mud island downstream at low tide.

Source:  http://www.mannpower-hydro.co.uk/news.php

Setting a green evolution in motion

Frank Gethings believes that redundancy can be looked at in two ways: either a gloomy end to a job or an opportunity to do something you have a passion about.

Gethings had been working for Maxtor, a multinational firm based in Bray, for about six years when it was acquired b y rival Seagate.

The change of ownership led to the closure of Maxtor, and Gethings was among more than 100 people who lost their jobs just before Christmas 2006.

‘‘Starting my own business had always been one of my goals, so I looked on the redundancy as an opportunity, as opposed to something negative,” said Gethings. ‘‘We received a good redundancy package from Maxtor, so I seized the moment: a case of now or never.”

Equipped with ‘‘the right attitude’’ and a keen interest in renewable energy, Gethings set about establishing Eco Evolution.

His firm specialises in all aspects of renewable energy – from consultancy to the design, supply and installation of wind turbines, solar heaters and even small-scale hydroelectricity generation systems.

‘‘The renewable energy industry in Ireland is only in its infancy and has tremendous potential for significant growth and high-calibre job creation,” said Gethings.

‘‘I think Ireland has the potential to be a world leader in this industry, but it will take real political leadership and proper support mechanisms to get it off the ground.”

A native of Ferns, Co Wexford, Gethings graduated in electronic engineering at Dublin City University in 1989.He worked for Kimble, a Dundalk based manufacturing firm, for six years, followed by a three-year stint with MKIR Panasonic.

When he went to work for Maxtor in 2000, he was able to move back home to Ferns, where Eco Evolution is now based. ‘‘I started working on setting up the company in 2006 when I was made aware of the impending redundancy,” he said. ‘‘This included carrying out intensive research and compiling a business plan, training and cherry-picking products.”

Gethings also did courses in sustainable energy, wind turbine and solar photovoltaic installation, and a wind energy module as part of a Masters in renewable energy systems.

Eco Evolution started trading in 2008, with funding from the Wexford County Enterprise Board. The firm is the official reseller for several international renewable energy products, and its customers are mainly in the residential and agricultural sectors. However, Gethings said that a number of commercial projects were also in the pipeline as businesses looked at ways to cut costs and become more environmentallyfriendly.

‘‘This is probably the only industry which can rise up out of the doldrums and lead this country into an era of prosperity once again,” said Gethings.

‘‘To support this energy revolution, our leaders must also rise up and take real responsibility for what needs to be done.”

Article

• Hydro electricity — Hydro electric generation — even on a small scale — can be a more cost-effective and, more importantly, predictable and consistent method of generating electricity on both a micro and commercial scale. If you are lucky enough to have a decent size stream running through your farm, it may certainly be worth looking at.

Co Wexford-based Eco Evolution (www.EcoEvolution.ie) is the agent in Ireland for the Rehart range of Archimedean Screw hydro turbines supplied by Mann Power Consulting Ltd, the Archimedean Screw hydro turbine specialists in the UK, although manufactured in Germany. Mann Power is the sole authorised dealer for the Rehart range of Archimedean Screw Hydro turbines.

Frank Gethings is the MD of the Ferns-based company, which specialises in the micro-generation technologies of wind turbines, Rehart hydro turbines and solar PV systems. It also supplies and installs solar thermal systems, air-to-water heat pumps and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) systems.

The Archimedean Screw is old technology used as water pumps to lift water from one level to another. Rehart manufactures two types of the Archimedean Screw, one for pumping water — as originally designed — and the other to generate electricity using the flow of water in the reverse direction, downwards to turn the screw and generate power.

Mr Gethings says: “The requirements for driving the screw are quite low, with a minimum head requirement of just 1m, up to a maximum of 10m. There is a minimum flow requirement of 100 litres/sec, which is the equivalent of a sizeable stream.”

These are said to have many advantages over the more traditional types of hydro turbines; the most important of these probably being the fact that they are fish friendly. Also, leaves and debris simply pass through the turbine with no fine screening required.

“They are also highly efficient across a large flow variation, with a hydraulic efficiency of 87pc and a water-to-wire efficiency of 77pc. They are suitable for small, domestic applications from 1kW up to larger commercial applications of 350kW.

“With each application we would have to do a feasibility study on each site and then the Archimedean hydro-electric plant would be custom-made to suit the site.” Small plants would generate as little as 1kW, while bigger plants could generate up to 350kW handling a water flow of up to 10,000 litres/sec.

“Old mills are ideal sites as the civil works are already in place and there is the potential to generate up to 15kW or so, depending on what’s there.”

Planning permission would be required for such an installation, and in the UK they have gone through all the processes to establish it as a fish-friendly design. Being site specific, it could be hard to estimate the price of installing such a facility, but MannPower Consulting has produced a chart in an effort to do just that.

SOURCE: http://www.independent.ie/farming/the–power–to–choose-1959329.html

Turning the screw on power

Turning age old technology on its head has started to allow one Irish company to produce electricity from flowing water.

Ferns based company Eco Evolution (www.EcoEvolution.ie) has become the first in the country to commercialise the Rehart range of Archimedean screw hydro turbines.

Frank Gethings, managing director of Eco Evolution, said “Archimedean screws were traditionally used as water pumps to lift water from one level to another. Archimedean screw hydro turbines work in reverse. Water from a river or stream flows down the screw causing it to rotate. The screw is coupled to a generator via a gearbox and hence power is generated.”

Like many green energy companies they supply wind turbines and solar panels but are finding huge interest in hydropower.

The system can range from 1kW up to 130kW on a single screw system. The first large system of 120kW is to be installed in Omagh, Co. Tyrone, to provide electricity for a leisure centre.

The Archimedean screw is suited to low head sites and can cater for heads of between one and 10 metres height and can take flow rates ranging from 100 to 10,000 litres per second.

For larger flows, two or more screws can be used.

Frank said there is scope for installing it on farms but having an existing mill or works will greatly reduce the cost. It costs €20,000 for the equipment for the 1kW system, but additional site works have to be carried out. Cost efficiency is an issue of scale. A 300kW system might cost €1,000 per kWh to install but a 1kW system might be €20,000.

The system allows debris to flow through and has also been proven to be fish friendly.

“… It is a point echoed across the industry. ”The general trend for energy costs will be an upward one and there is also the advent of carbon taxes to consider,” says Frank Gethings, Managing Director of Eco Evolution in Ferns, Co. Wexford. His company offers a wide range of renewable solutions, with wind electricity generating equipment to the fore and a new line in hydro electricity products just becoming available. Gone are the days when these technologies were the preserve of immense ESB projects: They can now be incorporated seamlessly into many business premises.

“Water has been used for energy generation for centuries, but Archimedean screw hydro turbines are relatively new to the market – they’re a 21^st century application of an ancient technology,” says Gethings. “They are suitable for small domestic applications from 1kW up to larger applications of 350kW.” Both wind and hydro power work on simple principles: the rotor is turned by wind or water; a generator attached to the rotor then generates power that can be fed into the building’s power supply. Another renewable energy solution is solar power; a technology that has been around for years yet is only coming into affordable, mainstream usage now – particularly helping to reduce heating costs…”