Shane’s Castle on the shores of Lough Neagh near Randalstown in Co. Antrim is the family seat of the O’Neills of Clandeboy. The Demesne is one of the most beautiful and well maintained in Ireland with a rich variety of flora and fauna, including a lovely herd of fallow deer that have been resident there for many years. The Castle is in ruins due to a devastating fire in 1816 but the remaining structure, including a unique Camellia House designed by John Nash, is still a prominent feature in the landscape. A recent and fitting addition to the Demesne is an Archimedean Screw hydro turbine, ancient technology but with a 21st century application.
The O’Neill family are well known for their preservation and conservation and love of nature and the environment and this Archimedean Screw hydro project complements their environmental initiatives very well indeed. Rated at 214 kilowatts the hydro turbine is predicted to save an impressive 840 tonnes or more of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions annually by generating clean, green electricity and will make a major contribution to the Demesne’s green philosophy.
This project is a reinstatement of an old hydro system that was installed circa 1900 that was used to power the estate before mains electricity was introduced to Shane’s Castle in the 1950’s. The old system was capable of generating a maximum of about 55 kW so the new Archimedean Screw system, with its high efficiency across a wide range of flows, is capable of producing at least five times the amount of energy over the year.
The predicted annual output is a massive 1,300,000 kilowatt-hours. To put this in perspective, an average household uses less than 5,000 kilowatt-hours per year, so this hydro scheme has the potential to power more than 260 houses in the locality.
Arriving on siteAlmost 15m long the screw weighs approximately 35 tonnesOffloading from the lorryWith a diameter of 3.5m this screw can take a flow rate of up to 5.5m3/s
The Archimedean Screw turbine provides a fish-friendly alternative to conventional turbines, ideally suited to low-head (1m-15m) sites, and sites with fish protection issues. Extensive fish passage tests have conclusively demonstrated that the large water chambers and slow rotation of the Archimedean Screw allow fish of all sizes, and debris, safe passage through the turbine.
As a result, the Environment Agency (UK) has agreed that no screening is required.Literally thousands of fish passages have been monitored and recorded using underwater cameras at the intake, inside the chamber of the Screw itself and at the outflow to assess the effect of the Screw on salmonids (including smolts and kelts), brown trout and eels.
The trials looked at fish passage across a broad spectrum of sizes and turbine speeds, possibly the most impressive of which was the safe passage of a kelt measuring 98cm in length and weighing 7.6kg. In addition, behavioural and migrational patterns across the species have been shown to be entirely unaffected by the turbine.
Screw is installed at an angle of 26deg. in this channelMoving into positionIn situA lifetime of clean, green generation aheadFish pass installed along side the ScrewCompleted project
This Hydro project at Shane’s Castle is the first of its kind in Northern Ireland and rated at 214 kilowatts this is the largest single Archimedean Screw generator ever manufactured. Eco Evolution and Mann Power installed the massive machine at Shane’s Castle earlier this year. The scheme was commissioned during the summer and it is now fully operational.
Omagh District Council has recently commenced work on a hydro project utilising the weir on the Camowen River, adjacent to Omagh Leisure Complex, to generate electricity through an Archimedean Screw hydro turbine. The development of the hydro scheme on the Camowen River will generate sufficient power to meet the needs of Omagh Leisure Complex with excess electricity sold back to the national grid.
The Archimedean Screw arrived early on Friday morning by ferry from Germany.
Arrival of Archimedean Screw to site
Rated at 121 kilowatts the hydro turbine is predicted to save in excess of 133 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) annually and will make a major contribution to the Council’s green philosophy. This project will complement the Council’s initiatives to develop ‘green’ energy from renewable sources, including the installation of a biomass boiler at Omagh Leisure Complex. The revenue generated by the electricity from the hydro scheme will be contributed to a sustainability fund, which would become a resource to support other sustainability projects in the district.
The Council was very conscious of the importance of the Camowen River as a fishery, and of the concerns of anglers. After various consultations it was decided that the most suitable turbine for the site was an Archimedean Screw. The Archimedean Screw turbine provides a fish-friendly alternative to conventional turbines, ideally suited to low-head (1m-10m) sites, and sites with fish protection issues.
The 220 tonne crean lifting the turbine into place
Lifting the turbine into place
Archimedean Screw craned into position
Bolting the Archimedean Screw securely into position
The Archimedean Screw in position
The site has seen many changes over the past few weeks. Safety screens and handrails have been installed. Landscape work is almost complete and it is is expected that this project will be commissioned and fully operational in the coming weeks.
Safety screens in placeHandrails in placeProject near completion
Hydro projects in Northern Ireland:
This Hydro project is the second of only two Archimedean Screw Hydro projects to date in Northern Ireland. Eco Evolution and Mann Power Consulting are installing both turbines. Mann Power Consulting based in Yorkshire are the pioneers of the Archimedean Screw in the UK and Ireland and Eco Evolution are their authorised representative for the whole of Ireland.
The first ever Archimedean Screw generator in Northern Ireland was only recently installed at Shane’s Castle in Antrim. Rated at 214 kilowatts this is the largest single Archimedean Screw generator ever manufactured. Eco Evolution and Mann Power recently installed the massive Rehart manufactured machine at Shane’s Castle. It is now fully commissioned fully operational.
The predicted annual output is a massive 1,125,000 kilowatt-hours. To put this in perspective, an average household uses less than 5,000 kilowatt-hours per year, so this hydro scheme has the potential to power more than 225 houses. This scheme will also save an impressive 840 tonnes or more of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions by generating clean, green electricity.
Fish-friendly Hydro
Eco Evolution and Mann Power together offer an unrivalled level of expertise and experience when it comes to the Archimedean Screw hydro turbine. Between us we have carried out well over 120 feasibility studies on low head hydro sites and have completed over 55 scheme designs. We also provide solutions for old mills that want to retain the traditional water wheel with a number of projects completed and operational with the old water wheel redesigned and refurbished or with a new water wheel manufactured.
Eco Evolution, as well as being involved in the relatively large sized projects in Omagh and Shane’s Castle in Antrim where the largest ever manufactured Archimedean Screw hydro generator of 214 kilowatts has been installed, are also currently working on a smaller 20 kilowatt private scheme in Co. Antrim that will shortly be submitted for planning. This scheme is situated on a farm and will generate an estimated 65,000 kilowatt-hours (or units of electricity) per annum with a Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions saving of over 40 tonnes. A small scheme like this would be capable of powering approximately 15 average households.
Eco Evolution also have two schemes planned on the river Slaney, the famous salmon and trout river in Carlow/Wexford that is also a Special Area of Conservation, one of these recently received planning approval and the other is currently in the planning process. The Archimedean Screw has made hydro schemes possible on rivers such as the Slaney when proper mitigation is implemented. In fact hydro schemes can, and have, enhanced and improved fish passage and migration on many sites that Eco Evolution and Mann Power have been involved in.
With regard to Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) Certification, Mann Power are registered under the scheme as Transition Installer 109. Note however that the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) in the UK recently announced that they are proposing to withdraw the exclusive link between micro hydro and the MCS for the purpose of the Feed-In Tariff eligibility as they have recognised that there is a case to treat micro hydro differently due to the special and complex nature of micro hydro development. DECC will consider how this can be taken forward as part of comprehensive review of the Feed-In Tariff.
Incentives and funding available in Northern Ireland:
Incentive payments in way of Northern Ireland Renewable Obligation Certificates (NIROCs) are available for renewable generators including hydro. NIROCs are available for the electricity generated by the hydro turbine, this electricity can then be used on site with the excess exported to the national grid. There is an Export Tariff available for any excess electricity that is exported to the national grid.
Funding may be available for hydro projects through the Rural Development Programme (RDP). The RDP aims to improve the quality of life in rural areas by supporting a wide range of projects. These include diversification into nonagricultural activities, support for business creation, encouragement of tourism activities, village renewal and development, basic services for rural communities and conservation and upgrading of the rural heritage. The RDP is delivered by seven Council Clusters using the LEADER approach, these Council Clusters have facilitated the creation of Local Action Groups (LAG’s), which cover all sectors of the community. If you would like to find out more about what is available in your area please contact your LAG or your local DARD office. All details available online at www.rdpni.info
The Eco Evolution professional team offers a friendly one-stop shop for hydro development, from feasibility studies to licensing, to installation and commissioning and everything in between.
Romney weir is turning the screw on CO2. Two Archimedean Screw hydro turbines, rated at 150kW each and designed by Mann Power Consulting Ltd., are to be installed on the weir to generate clean, green electricity that will be used locally. With a total capacity of 300kW this will be one of the largest Archimedean Screw hydro schemes installed to date in the UK and Ireland. The largest single screw was recently installed at Shane’s Castle in Northern Ireland, rated at 214kW it is the largest ever manufactured Archimedean Screw hydro generator and was designed and supplied by Mann Power .
Romney Weir ‘A’ is in Windsor. The weir was built in the 1790’s and is used to control water levels between Old Windsor lock and Boveney lock. The Romney Weir hydro scheme will utilise just two of the ten existing weir bays and have little effect on current weir operations. Weirs were originally built to control water levels for navigation and flood risk purposes but can now take advantage of new technology to provide energy.
Romney Weir
To help ensure the £1.7million project both generates clean energy and improves the local environment the old Denil type fish pass will be replaced with a Larinier style fish pass which will enable over 12 species of fish including trout and perch, as well as endangered eels, to migrate up this stretch of river, some for the first time in over 200 years.
The scheme will be fitted with a number of environmental protection measures including rubber bumpers on the turbine blades to minimise risk to fish.
A four metre flood gate will also be linked to the scheme and will open automatically when river levels are high to ensure there is no increased risk from flooding
Pile driving completed at Romney Weir
The project, which was granted planning permission in August 2008, will consist of two four meter diameter Archimedes screw type turbines occupying two bays in the Romney Weir and will generate 300 kilowatts per hour at peak times, enough to power 600 households. It is estimated the turbines will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 790,000 kilos per year. This clean, green electricity will be used to power Windsor Castle.
The two 150kW turbines at the Landustrie factory
Mann Power Consulting Ltd., the UK based Archimedean Screw specialists designed the equipment for the Romney Weir project. After various consultations it was decided that the most suitable turbine for the site was an Archimedean Screw Hydro Turbine which was manufactured by Landustrie based in Holland. The Landy screws are four meters in diameter, 6 meters long and each has the capacity of 150 kW. A unique feature of each screw is the number of blades or helices; here being 5 instead of usually 2 or 3. This is the first five bladed Archimedes Screw Hydro Turbine to be installed in the world to date.
Dave Mann visiting Landustrie in Holland
The turbines on route to Romney
The two 150kW Archimedean Screw turbines arrived on site in the early hours of Wednesday morning 7th September 2011.
The two turbines in the compound awaiting installation
Turbine floating to the weir on a pontoonInstalling the Archimedean ScrewsThe two Archimedean Screws installed on Romney Weir
The golden brown colour of the turbines and their housings were chosen by the residents of Eton, who look out onto the weir.
The turbines in-situ at Romney WeirSluice gates and Larinier Fish Pass
Four Hydraulic Rams have been installed to automatically move and adjust the two 94 tonne turbines as the river level changes.
Hydraulic ram being craned into place
The two hydraulic rams in-situ
Commissioning of the scheme is expected to take place in the coming weeks.
The fish-friendly Archimedean Screw hydro turbine.
The Archimedean Screw turbine provides a fish-friendly alternative to conventional turbines, ideally suited to low-head (1m-10m) sites, and sites with fish protection issues. Extensive fish passage tests have conclusively demonstrated that the large water chambers and slow rotation of the Archimedean Screw allow fish of all sizes, and debris, safe passage through the turbine. As a result, the Environment Agency has agreed that no screening is required. Literally thousands of fish passages have been monitored and recorded using underwater cameras at the intake, inside the chamber of the Screw itself and at the outflow to assess the effect of the Screw on salmonids (including smolts and kelts), brown trout and eels. The trials looked at fish passage across a broad spectrum of sizes and turbine speeds, possibly the most impressive of which was the safe passage of a kelt measuring 98cm in length and weighing 7.6kg. In addition, behavioural and migrational patterns across the species have been shown to be entirely unaffected by the turbine.
Dave Mann commissioned the fish passage studies instrumental in persuading the Environment Agency to accept the technology. Mann Power have a proven track record of successful installation throughout the UK and Ireland. One of the first challenges presented to Mann Power when Dave Mann set up the consultancy firm in 2003 was to find a hydropower solution for a community project in North Yorkshire, situated in a low head site within a Site of Special Scientific Interest with particular stipulations for the protection of an endangered fish species. The result of extensive research into possible solutions culminated in the introduction of the Archimedean Screw turbine – already widely used in continental Europe – for the first time into the UK, and Mann Power have been at the forefront of supplying this equipment for hydro generation projects since 2004. Mann Power now supplies this equipment throughout the UK and Ireland, as well as providing expert consultancy services.
Dave Mann, a member of the British Hydropower Association Council, has been instrumental in the design, installation and commissioning of all but a few of all Archimedean screw power generation sites in the UK and Ireland to date with over twenty schemes fully operational and a further forty or so at various stages of development. Mann Power have commissioned several independent studies to verify the Archimedean Screw’s fish-friendly credentials and also its efficiency. Mann Power is established within the national hydropower industry as a leader in the field of designing bespoke hydro-generation installations, specialising in low head and ‘difficult’ sites which previously may have been considered unsuitable for such applications.
Eco Evolution work in colaboration with Mann Power Consulting on hydro sites throughout the island of Ireland and the UK.
We also design modern water wheels for electricity generation.
All photographs copyright of Mann Power Consulting and Eco Evolution.
The UK has released an action plan to promote microgeneration and decentralized energy in the country, including measures that allow greater flexibility for the development of small hydropower.
The strategy includes actions to improve the Microgeneration Certification Scheme process, making it work more effectively for SMEs while continuing to protect consumers – for example by allowing greater flexibility in the treatment of small hydro installations. This will be taken forward through the Feed-in Tariffs comprehensive review launched later this summer.
The British Hydropower Association said it welcomes the government’s recently-announced strategy. As far as hydropower development is concerned, the strategy is timely and finally acknowledges that micro hydro is substantially different from other technologies such as wind and solar, the association said.
British Hydropower Association Chief Executive David Williams said: “Micro hydro has been around for millennia – the most common form being the watermill, the rural and industrial powerhouse of the world prior to fossil fuel power and grid systems. Mills are now electricity generators exporting power to the grid and mill and landowners, farmers and communities can now develop clean and efficient projects and the government’s Feed-in Tariff is the ideal incentive to do this.
That is, apart from schemes up to 50 kW which were required to qualify under the MCS accreditation system designed for all renewable energy technologies.
“Unfortunately MCS just was not appropriate for hydro developments which are already rigorously regulated under environmental and planning consenting requirements. The assumption that a householder could just visit his local supermarket and buy a water turbine generating unit and then get it installed and therefore had to be protected from rogue manufacturers and installers is not appropriate. This was causing potential developers extra angst and uncertain costs from a system which was supposed to remove these barriers. As a result, projects were being shelved.” He continued.
“It is therefore with great relief that the new government strategy states that it is to withdraw the exclusive link between micro hydro and the MCS for the purpose of Feed-in Tariff eligibility.”
Omagh District Council has recently commenced work on a hydro project utilising the weir on the Camowen River, adjacent to Omagh Leisure Complex, to generate electricity through an Archimedean Screw hydro turbine. The hydro scheme uses the same intake point that was used to feed the headrace to Scott’s Mills that started operations about 1850 in the town.The development of the hydro scheme on the Camowen River will generate sufficient power to meet the needs of Omagh Leisure Complex with excess electricity sold back to the national grid.
Rated at 121 kilowatts the hydro turbine is predicted to save in excess of 133 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) annually and will make a major contribution to the Council’s green philosophy. This project will complement the Council’s initiatives to develop ‘green’ energy from renewable sources, including the installation of a biomass boiler at Omagh Leisure Complex. The revenue generated by the electricity from the hydro scheme will be contributed to a sustainability fund, which would become a resource to support other sustainability projects in the district.
Omagh Leisure Complex is amongst the most modern leisure facilities having almost doubled in size from its opening in 1982 with further expansion planned. Set in 26 acres of landscaped grounds the complex caters for everyone from the casual swimmer to the serious athlete.
This project to develop a hydro turbine on the Camowen River will create a very valuable resource for renewable energy, with many benefits being re-invested to the community and providing a valuable educational resource for Omagh. Not only will the provision of this renewable energy help protect the environment, but it will also contribute to achieving the Council’s target for energy consumption from renewable sources.
Site on the Camowen river prior to works commencing
Bank cleared in readiness for construction of the hydro scheme
With flood protection in place ground works begin
The Council is very conscious of the importance of the Camowen River as a fishery, and of the concerns of anglers. After various consultations it was decided that the most suitable turbine for the site was an Archimedean Screw.
The Archimedean Screw turbine provides a fish-friendly alternative to conventional turbines, ideally suited to low-head (1m-10m) sites, and sites with fish protection issues. Extensive fish passage tests have conclusively demonstrated that the large water chambers and slow rotation of the Archimedean Screw allow fish of all sizes, and debris, safe passage through the turbine. As a result, the Environment Agency has agreed that no screening is required.
Literally thousands of fish passages have been monitored and recorded using underwater cameras at the intake, inside the chamber of the Screw itself and at the outflow to assess the effect of the Screw on salmonids (including smolts and kelts), brown trout and eels. The trials looked at fish passage across a broad spectrum of sizes and turbine speeds, possibly the most impressive of which was the safe passage of a kelt measuring 98cm in length and weighing 7.6kg. In addition, behavioural and migrational patterns across the species have been shown to be entirely unaffected by the turbine.
Pile driving and deep excavation for the intake channelFoundations laid
Reinforced concrete works at power house location
Pre-cast culvert units aligned to form part of the intake channel
Sluice gate installed
The power house and intake channel have now been constructed.
Construction of the Intake ChannelIntake channel leading to the power house
Power house and sluice gateLarinier fish pass to improve fish passage at siteDual flight Larinier Fish Pass with resting pool installed alongside screw location
This Hydro project is the second of only two Archimedean Screw Hydro projects to date in Northern Ireland. Mann Power Consulting and Eco Evolution are installing both turbines. Mann Power Consulting based in Yorkshire are the pioneers of the Archimedean Screw in the UK and Ireland and Eco Evolution based in Co. Wexford are their authorised representative for the whole of Ireland.
Mann Power Consulting and Eco Evolution are the Archimedean Screw generating specialists in the UK and Ireland. Mann Power Managing Director, Dave Mann, brought the Archimedean screw as a generating turbine into the UK for the first time in 2004. Dave commissioned the fish passage studies instrumental in persuading the Environment Agency to accept the technology. Mann Power have a proven track record of successful installation throughout the UK and Ireland and their services are split into five distinct stages allowing clients complete flexibility to decide their own project timescale. They offer a fully integrated 3-D design and build capability and they are the sole distributors of Rehart Archimedean screws in the UK and Ireland.
The first ever Archimedean Screw generator in Northern Ireland was only recently installed at Shane’s Castle in Antrim. Rated at 214 kilowatts this is the largest single Archimedean Screw generator ever manufactured. Eco Evolution and Mann Power recently installed the massive Rehart manufactured machine at Shane’s Castle. It is expected that the scheme will be commissioned shortly and it will then be fully operational.
The predicted annual output is a massive 1,125,000 kilowatt-hours. To put this in perspective, an average household uses less than 5,000 kilowatt-hours per year, so this hydro scheme has the potential to power more than 225 houses. This scheme will also save an impressive 484 tonnes or more of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions by generating clean, green electricity.
Eco Evolution are also currently working on a smaller 20 kilowatt private scheme in Co. Antrim that is at the early stages of development. This scheme will provide power to a farm with excess electricity sold back to the national grid.
Incentive payments in way of Northern Ireland Renewable Obligation Certificates (NIROCs) are available for renewable generators including hydro. NIROCs are available for the electricity generated by the hydro turbine, this electricity can then be used on site with the excess exported to the national grid. There is an Export Tariff available for any excess electricity that is exported to the national grid.
The Eco Evolution professional team offers a friendly one-stop shop for hydro development, from feasibility studies to licensing, to installation and commissioning and everything in between.
Eco Evolution are also currently seeking suitable investment sites for hydro development around the country. Leases on suitable sites with potential in excess of 50 kilowatts would be considered.
The Archimedes Screw has been used for pumping water for over 2000 years. Applying the principle in reverse, the same equipment now offers a new method for generating power from water, providing a fish friendly and highly efficient alternative to a conventional turbine.
Each Archimedean Screw hydropower system is manufactured to be site-specific, with a choice of three designs – steel trough, closed compact and open compact – depending on which is the most appropriate and cost-effective for each individual site.
Closed Compact – Key Benefits:
Screw + trough + gearbox + generator are all assembled into a single unit at the factory.
Civil works on site reduced to a minimum.
Installation time considerably reduced (approx 3-4 hours)
Open Compact – Key Benefits:
Manufactured as a self-supporting U-shaped steel construction minimising necessary civils work on site.
Generator unit is an integral part of the construction, easily accessible via a weatherproof, hinged generator cover.
Steel Trough – Key Benefits:
Concrete foundation cast in situ.
Screw is supplied complete with its steel plate trough
Backed up with concrete after assembly and alignment.
Optimum clearance between trough and screw is guaranteed.
Civil works on site are reduced.
Closed CompactOpen CompactSteel Trough
Eco Evolution are appointed agents in Ireland of Mann Power Consulting Ltd (UK) who specialise in the Archimedean Screw hydro turbine. The Archimedean screw hydro turbines are suited to low-head sites and are fish friendly.
As pioneers of Archimedean screw generating installations in the UK and Ireland, Mann Power believe that Rehart manufacture the best equipment on the market.
Eco Evolution appointed agents in Ireland for Mann Power Consulting Ltd., the Archimedean Screw hydro turbine specialists in the UK.
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.
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.”
Featured in the Sunday Business Post in ‘People in Business’ section:
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.
Overview of an Archimedean Screw ~ Photo Credit: Landustrie
Co Wexford-based Eco Evolution (www.EcoEvolution.ie) is the agent in Ireland for the Landustrie range of Archimedean Screw hydro turbines supplied by Mann Power Consulting Ltd, the Archimedean Screw hydro turbine specialists in the UK.
Frank Gethings is the MD of the Ferns-based company, which specialises in the micro-generation technologies of wind turbines, Landustrie 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. Landustrie 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.
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This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
