If you are interested in developing a small hydro system but have not done it before we would recommend taking advice from an expert. Whether the site is an old mill or totally new, and whether the capacity is 1kW or 1000kW, we have valuable experience and would be pleased to help you through the feasibility, design, planning and licensing stages.  We are not attached to any supply or manufacturing company so our advice is always impartial – we will recommend the best solution for your site given its budget and unique constraints.

We are able to offer an initial opinion of the likely power available at a site free of charge (by telephone or email). We will also suggest what the first steps should be if there is power available.

For us to be able to carry out this Desk Study, we need to know:

-    Site location (grid reference, or postcode and description)

-    Name of the river / stream

-    Estimated fall (vertical – e.g. how high is the weir at the site? Or how high up a hill could water be diverted from a stream compared with the height of the bottom of the site?)

You can use telephone, email or our website contact form to supply this information.

When you are more certain of your site’s potential we would recommend a 'Pre-feasibility Study', 'Design Report' or 'Full Feasibility Report and Licensing' service. Please contact us to discuss what these entail and which are appropriate for you. We are confident that you will find our rates competitive.

Here are some examples of consultancy projects that we have been invovled with recently:

PLAS TAN Y BWLCH
Derwent Hydro has been appointed by the Snowdonia National Park Authority to provide site survey, scheme design, Environment Agency consultation and feasibility services. This is with respect to a proposed high head 30kW scheme at the Authority’s Environmental Studies Centre in the National Park. The scheme requires a particularly sensitive design because it is subject to a designation as a Special Area of Conservation under the European Habitats Directive and is also partly a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

LONGBRIDGE WEIR
Derwent Hydro was instructed by Derby City Council to undertake the feasibility and design work for a new 230kW hydropower station on the Council’s land at Longbridge Weir in Derby City Centre. As a result the project now has the necessary permissions from the planning authority and the Environment Agency. The £1.5M installation is due to take place during 2011. It will feed power into the council house making substantial and direct reductions to the Council’s energy bills and carbon emissions. It will also serve as an educational facility for the local community and improve fish passage at the weir.