Eco Evolution Blog

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

Project: Proposed leisure centre and swimming pool.

To whom it may concern,

I wish to confirm that at planning and design stages of the above project I requested Frank and Mary Gethings of Eco Evolution to design the most environmentally friendly and energy solution for the running of the proposed leisure centre. I asked that all of the essential heating, water heating and air conditioning services be designed with the most environmentally friendly systems.

Within a couple of days of talking with Mary, Frank visited my offices and educated me on the best approach. Frank and Mary have a very friendly and approachable manner which makes them very easy to deal with.

I agreed to run with his excellent advice and in a matter of days Frank had a full eco-friendly solution for what is by no means a simple building to service. The solution included some very innovative thinking with regard to the heating of the pool, an array of solar panels and the use of a heat pump system. My client was equally impressd with the energy solutions and I submitted all of Eco Evolutions details as part of the planning application.

Frank and Mary form an excellent team and provide excellent advice and most importantly provide the information efficiently and on time. The products which they can provide are without doubt the best on the market and it is clear that a lot of time and effort is spent by the company in researching and ensuring they have the best products at their disposal.

I have no doubt that given the notable shifts in attitude towards the use of these products, coupled with the fact they are now reasonably priced, that Eco Evolution is a company that will go from strength to strength in the coming years.

I would strongly recommend them for all your ‘eco’ needs.

Yours sincerely,

Michael Molloy, Architect

Molloy Architecture and Design Studio, McCurtain St., Gorey, Co. Wexford.

~Online Home Energy Self Survey and Building Energy Rating Integrated into Grant Scheme~

On June 8^th, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) will introduce two new features to the Home Energy Saving (HES) scheme, designed to further empower consumers, first by guiding them on suitable upgrade works and secondly informing them of the impact of works undertaken.

The Home Energy Saving scheme, administered by SEAI provides grants to homeowners for insulation and heating system upgrades and continues to prove very popular with over 58,000 homeowner applications approved since the scheme was launched in March 2009.

Online Home Energy Self Survey

The smart online Home Energy Self Survey will only take minutes to complete, taking homeowners through a number of simple steps to identify the current condition of their home and guiding them towards the most suitable upgrade works.  This new survey will be offered to all applicants at the start of the online application process and will also available in hard copy on request from the SEAI call centre.  The survey complements the existing fast track online application system and links directly to SEAI’s other resources including the Buyers’ Guides.

Integral BER Requirement

At the same time a Building Energy Rating (BER) is to become an integral part of all grant applications under the HES scheme, whereby homeowners must undertake a BER to measure the impact of works undertaken.  This will give homeowners a thorough and objective assessment of the energy performance of their home following upgrade works, including a BER certificate with a A-G performance rating.  The first such BER assessment will attract grant aid of €100.

At the time of completing the BER, the assessor will also provide an estimate of the energy performance of the home before upgrade works, based upon the pre-works condition of the house.  This will inform the homeowner of the effectiveness of the upgrade works in terms of energy and CO2 emissions improvements. 

Householders making applications  on or after Tuesday 8^th June will be required to use the new application system or  the new application forms.

Source: http://www.seai.ie/News_Events/Press_Releases/New_Consumer_Features_to_be_introduced_to_HES_Scheme.html

Eco Evolution were invited to the climate change conference by the Wexford County Development Board. 

The speakers on the day were from the EPA, Wexford County Council, NUI Maynooth, Teagasc and Courtown Waterworld.

Wexford County Development Board, (CDB), wanted to highlight and discuss the implications of climate change. The CDB launched its strategy “Action for change 2009-2012″ last year. Action 7 calls for a  local multi-agency response to climate change. The aim of the conference was to raise local awareness and consider how Wexford can adapt to the likely impacts.

In time, the impacts of climate change will be more apparent in Wexford. There continues to be debate but predicted effects include:

• More intense storm and rainfall events
• Water shortages in the Summer and the need to irrigate crops
• Effects on fish species that are sensitive to small temperature changes
• Accelerated coastal errosion

The purpose of this conference was to localise the issue, to highlight the effects of climate change for our economy and public services and our citizens and their environment. The conference illustrated the impact of climate change at County level and also the possible adjustments that may be needed to manage longer term change.

For full details of the Conference speakers presentations follow the link below:

http://www.wexfordcdb.ie/cdb/ClimateChangeConference/#d.en.14835

EPA Press Release: 28th April 2010.

• Latest greenhouse gas emissions projections show Ireland will comply with Kyoto Protocol without any more purchases
• Achieving more stringent 2020 targets will require further reduction measures yet to be identified
• Growth in transport emissions projected to slow significantly to 2020 compared with annual growth rates 1990-2008
• Carbon sinks (such as increased afforestation) crucial for 2020 target

The EPA today released projected emissions of Ireland’s greenhouse gases up to 2020. These projections, produced on an annual basis, give a picture of Ireland’s ability to meet international targets with respect to greenhouse gas emissions and update those published in March 2009.

The projections are reported on a sectoral basis and highlight, once again, that the key sectors contributing to greenhouse gas emissions in Ireland are agriculture, energy and transport.

Commenting on the projections Dr Mary Kelly, Director General, EPA said:

“National greenhouse gas projections are important in understanding Ireland’s greenhouse gas profile in the medium term, and in assessing the effectiveness of policy measures designed to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.  The projections released today reflect the effects of the economic downturn, and the anticipated recovery, based on ESRI economic forecasts. Even with reductions due to the downturn it is projected that Ireland will still be 2.8 million tonnes per annum of CO2e above the non-ETS target in 2020 taking the most ambitious scenarios set out in Government policies and assuming that forestry sinks are fully included.”

Complete EPA Report: http://www.epa.ie/news/pr/2010/name,28091,en.html