Micro-hydro

Extraction box will bolt against the waterfall step.
Coanda screens and fish ladder system
Turbine hut location (180m down from the road).
The turbine hut will be made of local reclaimed stone with a turf roof.
Turbine hut will contain both a “main” turbine and alternator (on left here) and a very small turbine for dry weather.

Planning Application documents

  1. Location and site plans
  2. Description
  3. Design and Access Statement
  4. Extraction area plan.  Appearance and operation.
  5. Turbine hut plan, front and end elevations.
  6. Planning Statement
  7. Heritage Impact Statement
  8. Advertising Statement
  9. Flood risk assessment
  10. Noise impact assessment
  11. Cottage and surroundings.
  12. Construction method.
  13. Planning Consent was granted in March 2019.

National Trust lease

  1. Senior Management briefing document
  2. Method statement

Application to Natural Resources Wales for Abstraction and Impoundment licences.

  1. Photos and outline of the catchment area – given to Wallingford HydroSolutions to define the input to their flow prediction.
  2. “LowFlows” river flow estimate from Wallingford HydroSolutions.
  3. Geomorphology survey.
  4. Pre-application outline proposal (29/8/17)
  5. Pre-application response from NRW
  6. Full proposal
  7. Ecological survey by Dr Rod Gritten
  8. Weir design details
  9. Justification for flow rates.
  10. Drawings HyR_181006A, HyR_181006B-1, HyR_181102A, HyR_181103A, HyR_181105A
  11. Hydro Abstraction Factor (HAF) calculation.
  12. Advertisement published in the North Wales Weekly News 26/12/18.
  13. Abstraction and Impoundment licences were granted in March 2019.
  14. ‘Pre-app’ enquiry to Natural Resources Wales to discuss the possibility of extracting water in dry conditions beyond Q95:

Ordinary Watercourse Consent application to Conwy Council

  1. OWC application form
  2. Location and site plans
  3. Description
  4. Method statement
  5. Justification for flow rates.
  6. Drawings HyR_181006B_rev1a1, HyR_181102A, HyR_181103A, HyR_181105A, HyR_181217A-1.pdf, HyR_181217A-2.pdf
  7. “LowFlows” river flow estimate from Wallingford HydroSolutions.
  8. Geomorphology survey.
  9. Ecological survey by Dr Rod Gritten
  10. OWC consent was granted in March 2019.

Application to carry out work on Common Land

  1. Common Land map
  2. Common Land notice and advert (published 13/11/19).
  3. Section 23 application
  4. Information leaflet
  5. Construction details
  6. Permission to undertake works on Common Land under Section 23 of the National Trust Act 1971 was granted in March 2020.

ROO-FIT application for a 9 kW Declared Net Capacity system.

  1. Schematic diagram
  2. Application submitted March 2019 and Preliminary Accreditation approved Dec 2019.
  3. BEIS have now extended the commissioning deadline to end-March 2022.

Other documents

  1. Civil works document
  2. Extraction box assembly (Fusion 360 archive).  Play with it! – the sun shield hinges up/down for cleaning the screens and the smaller fairings can be dragged in & out (will be bolted down onto a spacer so that beyond Q95 no water passes over the larger screen).
  3. Extraction component drawings: box assembly, main box, screens, screen + mounting strip, adjustable fairings, sun screen, fish plunge basin.   The weir heights have been designed to allow fish to jump up and down past the screens regardless of stream level.  The stepped fairings and metering orifice ensure there’s no risk of taking more than a very small fraction of the flow in dry conditions, so the stream cannot be sucked dry.
  4. Settling tank construction details.  This is basically a vortex separator to remove air bubbles before the water enters the main penstock (could cause air locks and/or severe water-hammer if slugs of air go through the spear valve).  A water level sensor in the tank will check that the turbine isn’t taking more water than the screens can provide.
  5. Choice of turbines and alternators.    Thoughts on using an alternator from a suitcase generator.
  6. Turbine hut pipework
  7. Turbine housing concept (pdf download).
  8. Stresses in a pipe splitter.  The pipes are cut along the symmetry plane so the weld faces match up.
  9. Spear valve