How it Will Work

Clean Energy, Driven by the Derwent

We’re using old tech in the world – about 2,000 years old!

The electricity will be generated by the flow of water over an Archimedes' screw which will be installed in a sluice channel constructed on the west side of the weir.

The generating and control equipment will be sited in a turbine house on the area of land adjacent to the weir.

Whilst we haven’t got too much to show you right now, you can get a good idea of how it all works from this video from Esk Valley Hydro project.

The flow of the water has the capacity to generate 50kWh electricity and since the flow of the Derwent River is constant, even in dry periods, the scheme will generate 200,000 kWh per year.

The scheme will make a financial surplus from the sale of the generated electricity. As the project is a Community Benefit Society (CBS) all surplus must be used to benefit the local community.

At the discretion of the Directors of the CBS any surplus will initially be used to repay the loan/share capital required for financing the project. After this the surplus will be used to enable other local groups to benefit from renewable energy generation.

The full feasibility study and business plan can be found here.