River Thames’ first hydroelectric Archimedes screw turbine
M&S goes with the flow with Thames’ first hydroelectric turbine
Marks and Spencer funds huge Archimedes Screw at Mapledurham Estate to supply power for its stores
http://www.archimedeshydroscrew.com/river-thames-first-hydroelectric-archimedes-screw-turbine/
http://www.archimedeshydroscrew.com/first-archimedes-screw-turbine-on-river-thames/
River Thames’ first hydroelectric Archimedes screw turbine
River Thames’ first hydroelectric Archimedes screw turbine
M&S goes with the flow with Thames’ first hydroelectric turbine
Marks and Spencer funds huge Archimedes Screw at Mapledurham Estate to supply power for its stores
The UK’s biggest Archimedes Screw will be unveiled today at the site of the last working watermill on the River Thames.
The £500,000 hydroelectric turbine has been fitted at the Mapledurham Estate in Oxfordshire, replacing a defunct turbine that was installed on the side of the 15th century watermill in the 1920s to generate electricity.
Around 8,000 litres, the equivalent of 280 Olympic-size swimming pools of water, will cascade through the 24.7 tonne turbine each day. Over the course of a year, the screw will produce approximately 500,000kWh of renewable electricity for retailer and financial backer Marks and Spencer, sufficient to power one of itsstores.
The turbine is expected to pay for itself within 10 years and generate income for the estate, which also produces milk for Marks and Spencer and flour for sale.
“It’s been our long-standing ambition to generate renewable electricity from the last working watermill on the Thames,” John Eyston, owner of the estate, told the Guardian. “We’re delighted the hydropowered turbine is now up and running, providing a sustainable additional income for the future from this historic site.”
After successfully negotiating a two-year planning application, the Mapledurham screw has beaten a number of other proposed projects to completion, including two 40-tonne Archimedes Screws that were recently installed for the Queen at Romney Weir, near Windsor Castle.
To pass strict environmental requirements the 3.5 metre screw has been designed to allow fish to swim safely through the machinery. It should also be resistant to flooding or debris.
Visitors to the estate can see the hydroelectric system for themselves, alongside the Grade I-listed Elizabethan manor house and the historic mill, which was used in the film The Eagle Has Landed and featured on the cover of Black Sabbath’s 1970 eponymous debut album.
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