Below are the latest posts from all of the Renewables First Project Blogs. See the Project Summaries page for an introduction to each project.
The Allt Eilidh Hydropower project consists of a 700 kW Pelton turbine operating at approximately 453 l/s mean flow rate at a site with gross head of 130 m. The consented abstraction flow rate is 680 l/s. The hydropower scheme will generate approximately 2,300,000... Read more...
Refurbishment project by Renewables First Renewables First was hired to refurbish an existing hydropower scheme within the grounds of Pale Hall, located on the Afon Caletwr, near Bala, Gwynedd. Renewables First’s role was licensing, detailed design, installation... Read more...
Renewables First has teamed up with Swiss-based supplier of Vortex micro hydro technology, AquaZoom, with a view to developing sites that might normally be considered by both landowners and hydropower installers to be less commercially viable as hydropower sites.... Read more...
Allt Coire a Bhainidh Hydropower – a Scottish Forestry Commission Site Renewables First has been commissioned to develop a hydropower scheme on Scottish Forestry Commission owned land in the Wester Ross area of the Scottish Highlands. Renewables First’s role... Read more...
Case study of Crossflow turbine upgrade – This hydro project involved creating a new split-phase grid connection, the removal of an old Gilkes turbine, refurbishing the turbine house with a lowered concrete floor and installation of a new Crossflow turbine.
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2017 was another productive year for Renewables First, as they played a key role in a number of high-profile hydropower schemes throughout the United Kingdom. Our sister company, GoFlo Screens ( www.gofloscreens.co.uk ), has also gone from strength to strength,... Read more...
Kenningstock Mill scheme is located at Camelford in Cornwall. The hydropower component comprises a 25 kW Crossflow turbine, with a calculated annual generation of 107,454 kWh per year, enough to power the equivalent of 25 UK homes and displacing 53,727 Kg/CO2 per year
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Renewables First was recently hired to produce detailed designs for a hydropower scheme in the Snowdonia National Park, and project manage the installation through to commissioning. Lady’s Dingle is located near Betws-y-Coed, Gwynedd.
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Civil engineering works, including penstock burial, intake screen and hydro turbine house construction for the Allt na Fearna hydropower scheme are well under way.
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Renewables First played a key role in the construction of the Brondanw Estate hydro scheme from its conception through to current installation. Construction works on the Afon Maesgwm hydropower scheme are now fully completed.
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Renewables first was hired to review an existing feasibility assessment and preliminary construction designs for a hydropower scheme on Harris, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Subsequenclty we were hired to complete the design, and to project manage construction installation and commissioning.
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The Cochwillan hydropower scheme is an exemplar project demonstrating the benefits of combining hydropower with innovative water screening technology.
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The team at Renewables First provided us initially with clear and concise review of a partially planned project providing an alternative design. We found Renewables First to be very reliable and all members of the team very helpful throughout the project.
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The design team from Renewables First that worked on the Radyr Weir hydro scheme were proud to learn that the project was to be awarded the 2017 George Gibby Award for the Best Civil Engineering Project in Wales, awarded by the Institution of Civil Engineers Wales Cymru.
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GoFlo Screens was recently a “Highly Commended” Small Scale Project Of The Year at the Energy Efficiency & Healthy Homes Regional Awards 2017. The award relates to the design, supply and installation of its travelling water intake screen at the Kenningstock Mill 25 KW hydropower scheme.
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Having taken over my aunt’s converted watermill in Cornwall in 2011, we inherited what must have been one of the first hydro schemes installed in the South-West. The first decision we had to make was whether to update the existing scheme, or replace it with a more efficient modern turbine.
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Renewables First has been hired by a renewable energy developer to undertake a series of hydropower feasibility assessments on Forestry Commission Scotland Estate. This included a site on the Allt na Fearna in the Auchteraw Forest near Fort Augustus.
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Having long dreamed of a hydro installation on our private burn, we sought high and low for a company who were willing to take on a smaller scale scheme which remained viable. Renewables First happily stepped in to accommodate us, providing a positive feasibility study and secondly going on to carry out and manage all aspects of the scheme.
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“At Radyr Weir, we had a very short timescale to design and install the hydro scheme. Renewables First were fantastic throughout in ensuring that the deadlines were met. They very quickly produced detailed design drawings for the fish and eel passes, powerhouse... Read more...
Owned by United Utilities, the Errwood hydropower scheme is a Replacement Project in which an old and inefficient 150 kW turbine (actually a pump working in reverse to generate electricity) installed back in the 1980’s, was replaced with a much more efficient purpose-built 100 kW Francis turbine.
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