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 thamesweb |
Hydro-electric Scheme for Windsor Castle resurrected |
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Posts: 2641 (28-Jul-2005 11:40 AM) |
The original scheme was planned in 2003 for a small hydro-electric plant to supply Windsor Castle. The facility was to have been installed by Romney Weir but
seemed to have been shelved by the end of 2006. In spring 2008 a revised set of plans was submitted for planning approval.
Earlier story here 
Last Edited By: thamesweb 13-Jun-2008 08:36 AM.
Edited 1 time.
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thamesweb |
Project still on??? | ||
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Posts: 1172 (22-May-2008 09:38 PM) |
Hydro Electric Scheme Application 20th May 08
Rumour had it that the scheme was being abandoned, but it seems it has been resurrected, perhaps by oil now at $135 a barrel and rising!!! |
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thamesweb |
Romney Weir hydroelectric scheme - borough welcomes application | ||
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Posts: 1233 (13-Jun-2008 08:39 AM) |
RBWM 12/06/2008
The Royal Borough has this week welcomed a planning application for an innovative hydroelectric scheme at Romney Weir on the Thames near Windsor. The application - from npower renewables - aims to provide a scheme which would generate power equivalent to the annual needs of around 300 households using a new design believed to be the first of its kind in the south of England. Renewable energy would be generated at the weir - next to the bank at Romney Island, between Windsor and Eton - using two hydrodynamic screw turbines to extract energy from the flowing waters and convert it to carbon-free electricity. It is anticipated that the installation would be connected to Windsor Castle. Cllr Alison Knight, lead member for planning and housing, said: "We welcome this application from npower renewables which reflects the council's ongoing commitment to carbon-neutral and highly-sustainable schemes. "If this project is given the go-ahead we will work with the Environment Agency who own Romney Weir to consider opportunities which could be provided by this scheme in the future. "However it is important to stress that this application has to go through all the planning processes relevant to any scheme of this nature." A previous scheme from npower renewables for the weir was granted planning permission in 2004 but rising costs meant the project was put on hold. The current revised design is likely to be considered by the Windsor development control panel at its meeting on July 9. If approved, the scheme would be constructed during 2009 and operational before the end of the same year. Further information about the project can be found at Npower Renewables Romney Weir. |
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thamesweb |
We have received the following from Ewan Larcombe of Datchet | ||
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Posts: 1345 ( 6-Aug-2008 10:02 PM) |
6 Aug 2008
The Thames is Just a Drain I support the use of natural energy sources, but sadly the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Planning Committee voted unanimously in favour of the Romney Weir Hydropower Scheme without full consideration of all the issues. I do not understand how these Councillors (in particular Cllr. J Grey of Datchet) who purport to represent local people can fail to have learnt from the experience of the Environment Agency's £110m Jubilee River fiasco but then I suppose that representation changes over time, and even recent significant events such as the January 2003 flooding downstream of Windsor are quickly forgotten (except by those people directly affected). Councillors repeatedly stated that there would be no increase in the risk of flooding either upstream or downstream as a result of installing these structures. I do wonder what qualifications and experience allow these Councillors (and for that matter the officers) to make such judgements, and whether they even know the difference between risk and probability. In particular, Datchet Parish Council (being immediately downstream of the proposed structures) was not consulted about this application. After the Parish Council requested and obtained a copy of the application for consideration, I was then prohibited from putting the Datchet Parish Council view to the meeting which I found both shocking and shameful. Whatever happened to democracy and freedom of speech and if that was not censorship, then I don't know what is! This scheme could well be the first of many on the Thames and other rivers, and I believe that all the issues should be properly debated and recorded at a Public Inquiry, just like the MWEFAS project. The RBWM has obviously decreed that the parishes downstream of Windsor are irrelevant and will become wash-lands to be flooded by the EA at the press of a button and without notice. But be warned - the Thames is just a drain as it has been for 1,000s of years. Any recreational or commercial benefits are a bonus. Carry on neglecting river maintenance (for flood defence purposes) and installing new structures in the Thames at your peril! |
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