Group's bid to use water to power Derby firms
A community group in Derby wants to install a specialist turbine using a river's energy to power nearby businesses.Darley Abbey Community Energy (DACE) is trying to secure funds for an Archimedes screw - a type of turbine which enables water to flow through to a generator and provides renewable electricity - on the River Derwent at Darley Abbey Mills.The scheme was recently praised in Parliament by secretary of state for energy and net zero, Ed Miliband.Joanna Watson, a founding member of DACE, said factories in the area were first powered by water wheels and the project would "bring it full circle".
Darley Action Community Energy came together to try and implement a hydroelectric scheme on the River Derwent, using the power of the weir close to Darley Abbey Mills to provide renewable energy.DACE has drawn up plans for a 100 kilowatt turbine. The aim is to provide energy to the units directly rather than sending it to the National Grid.The group said the target output would be more than 600,000 kWh per year - the average electricity use of more than 200 homes.Ms Watson added the "ball park costs" are between £800,000 to £1m.
The site where today's Silk Mill is located further up the River Derwent is considered to be the first mechanised factory in world. After securing funds from various pots for a feasibility study, the group is hoping to push forward with the plans."This gave the assurance that this is a viable project down here," Ms Watson said."This is a sensitive area due to its heritage and we have to be careful about the type of development so we're consulting on that."But this is all about decarbonising the energy use of the businesses in the mills - the area is based on and around water power - that's why it evolved in the first place because the factories here were powered by water wheels."It would bring it full circle."
Ms Watson said another model they could explore would be create an "energy local model" to use the low voltage neighbourhood network to offer a tariff to nearby residents.She added it would keep the income in a "local pot" to pay off the capital costs."If the pot grows, we could reinvest it and fund other projects with the same ethos," she added.The group is now exploring the site further and has submitted an outline planning application to Derby City Council - it is currently awaiting a response.Derby North MP Catherine Atkinson recently raised the project in Parliament.In response, Miliband praised the scheme and congratulated the group on its work.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
5 hours ago
- Reuters
Turkey's ruling party proposes changes to tax applications for some vehicles in draft bill
ISTANBUL, June 16 (Reuters) - Turkey's ruling AK Party on Monday submitted a bill to parliament aiming to limit some tax exemptions and make changes to special consumption tax applications for certain vehicles, a draft of the law showed. The bill proposes broadening President Tayyip Erdogan's authority to determine and change special consumption tax levels for motor vehicles according to engine size, range and battery capacity. The proposed readjustments to the special consumption tax thresholds will not change the market prices of motor vehicles, the draft said.
South Wales Guardian
5 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
Stormont MLA Remuneration Board Bill passes despite opposition
The Assembly Members (Independent Remuneration Board) Bill will establish a new independent board to determine salaries and pensions for MLAs. It will replace the previous Independent Financial Review Panel which has been defunct for a number of years. Currently, the basic salary for an MLA is £51,500, but this can rise with position including chairing some committees or serving as a minister, with the First and deputy First Ministers receiving a salary of £123,500. A report alongside the Bill showed MLA salaries are lower than those received by Members of the Scottish Parliament (£72,196), Assembly Members at the Welsh Assembly (£72,057) and Members of the Irish Parliament (113,679 euros/£94,537). The Bill, put forward by the Assembly Commission, was passed by an oral vote by MLAs on Monday, with the sole MLAs representing the TUV and People Before Profit both opposing the Bill. TUV MLA Timothy Gaston claimed it is 'nothing more than a vehicle to enable MLAs to award themselves a substantial pay rise', and objected to former MLAs being entitled to sit on the new board. People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll also criticised that former MLAs could sit on the board, and said that a pay rise for MLAs amid 'rising rates of poverty' would be 'completely tone deaf'. However UUP MLA Andy Allen, who sits on the Assembly Commission, described a 'technical Bill' to deal with the process of how salaries and pensions are set. Closing the debate Sinn Fein MLA Sinead Ennis slammed what she termed 'inaccuracies and misunderstandings' over the Bill. She also warned that if the Bill did not pass the Assembly 'will have failed' to ensure legal clarity and leave no structure in place to determine the salaries and pensions of MLAs. 'In passing this Bill today, future discussions and decisions around the salaries and pensions of members will shift to the independent remuneration board,' she told MLAs. 'That board has independence in deciding what factors it wants to consider before determining its view on the appropriate level of salaries and pensions for members. 'That is the appropriate way of dealing with these matters.'
ITV News
17 hours ago
- ITV News
‘We've got to get the reforms through': PM insists he'll push ahead with welfare cuts
The prime minister insists he'll press ahead with planned welfare cuts, despite the threat of a major rebellion from his MPs. As we near a vote on the benefit reforms in Parliament, an increasing number of backbench Labour MPs have signaled they will vote against the government, or have privately raised concerns about the plans. Despite repeated calls to pause the cuts or rethink them altogether, the PM said 'we have got to get the reforms through, and I have been clear about that from start to finish.' Starmer told reporters travelling to the G7 summit in Canada the government will be 'getting on with' implementing the shake-up of the welfare system. He refused to answer when asked whether he felt he's got the numbers to get the reforms through Parliament. 'The principles remain the same - those who can work should work. Those who need supporting to work should have that support to work,' he said. 'The system is not working, it's not working for those that need support, it's not working for taxpayers. 'Everybody agrees it needs reform, we have got to reform it and that is what we intend to do,' he insisted. The government plans to make it harder for disabled people to claim Personal Independence Payments (Pip), and to freeze universal credit incapacity benefits for existing claimants, while cutting them by 50% for new claimants. The reforms are expected to save £5 billion from the ballooning welfare budget, but critics warn the move will push vulnerable people into poverty. Despite the PM's words, the government is offering 'additional protections' for some of the people affected by the cuts, in order to try and appease MPs. The Guardian revealed there would be a 13 week transition period for those who no longer qualify for PiP under the changes, along with further support during that time. The newspaper also reported that the sickest benefit recipients with less than a year to live, and those with lifelong, incurable conditions will get a higher rate of universal credit and won't have to go through reassessments. Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall will also bring in the 'right to work' scheme for people on health and disability benefits at the same time as the bill containing the cuts. This week, Kendall rejected appeals from a committee of MPs to delay the changes, telling them 'we will not avoid or delay the decisive action needed to transform the system'. MPs on the committee had said there needs to be a pause in implementing the reforms while the government carry out a full impact assessment. But Kendall insisted there will be no delay, because the bill needs final sign off from Parliament by November this year for the changes to be in effect from 2026. There are reports up to 170 Labour MPs have raised concerns about the cuts with the government. ITV News understands that includes some senior backbenchers who work as Parliamentary Private Secretaries (PPS) to ministers, and even one junior minister. The legislation needed to bring in the changes is due to be introduced next week, with a vote expected in the week of the June 30. It's unclear exactly how many MPs will vote against the plans, but it's likely to be the biggest rebellion of Starmer's premiership.
