The private client has carried out most of the works himself, with WRE doing design and specification of the system, and fitting and commissioning the system.  The turbine is a very neat and compact machine from Ecowave Systems, which has been specified as it offered a small and quiet machine, at a good price from a UK supplier.  Pleasingly the delivery was relatively fast, and we will report on the performance of this model, as it is the first from this manufacturer that we have installed.

The National Trust site is at Cotehele in Cornwall, and despite wet ground conditions and difficult access (as ever), progress is good.  WRE has designed and gained licenses for this site, and is doing all the installation and commissioning, in the coming months.  This system uses a sturdy JLA turbine.

Further work for the National Trust is continuing, with progress on sites in the Westcountry, hopefully which will lead to installation in 2011/12.

Work for later in the year covers Screw, Crossflow and Pelton systems, with potentially hundreds of kW of installed capacity following in the next 12 months.

Look out for the website updates shortly.

The Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) is close to becoming law, and it is likely that it will be a requirement of all systems that they will need to be designed and installed by Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) approved installers, using approved equipment. 

The aim of the MCS is to provide consumer protection for schemes under 50kW output, in what is a fast developing market.  There has been some degree of resistance within the hydro community since many schemes are typically built with some owner input, but if approached carefully this can still be the case. 

WRE expects to enter the MCS scheme at its launch in the next few weeks, and has been accepted onto the REAL assurance scheme, which is a requirement.  We are expecting to be installing approved schemes from the start of April.

We believe that the MCS scheme should provide consumer confidence, and it will be important that when looking at designing a hydro system you use an approved, professional firm from feasibility study onwards. 

Screening

WRE is now offering more high quality screening equipment.  In addition to the automatic screeners which are being used increasingly for old mill sites, we are now manufacturing ‘Coanda’ type wedge wire screens, for high head schemes with small flows.  These are ideal as they require no power, are robust and long lasting.  Prices start from £1250 (+ VAT) for a 20 l/s version.

We are also manufacturing interface equipment to work with the popular SCS HGP hydro controller.  This is typically used to operate hydraulic systems where large flow control equipment is needed, such as in low head systems.  Email us for a quote.

Installations

WRE has completed work at a site in Devon where a single jet Pelton machine has been installed.  It is operating as expected, and producing absolutely at the top end of the design expectations of energy capture.

WRE has recently placed orders for two more hydro systems for installation in 2010, a Screw turbine for a site in East Devon and a crossflow machine for another old mill site in Mid-Devon. 

The screw turbine system has been under development for some time, owing to difficulties in licensing, but this will now be delivered in June.  The system is a conventional concrete-trough screw turbine, with a number of design tweaks to boost efficiency.  WRE is the largest installer of Screw turbines in the UK, and is not tied to any manufacturer, meaning we are free to recommend the best machine for the job.

The crossflow turbine is our first order from UK manufacturer Ecowave, who have been able to commit to an MCS approved machine in a short lead time.  The system will use 85 l/s on a 5 metre head, and should also be operating by mid-summer.

We have also confirmed the start of installation work at two further sites, a crossflow turbine for the National Trust, and a screw turbine for a private client, both to be running by mid 2010. 

WRE continues to contribute to industry panels on the Feed In Tariff, and looks forward to the formal announcements on the level of support in the next few weeks.

and re-opens on Monday 4^th January.

We wish you a very happy Christmas and best wishes for the New Year.

We are pleased to introduce our new Project Engineer joining us from the Geographical Information Systems industry. Since graduating from

Having experience in project management as well as a working knowledge of pipes, pumps and penstocks, Jessica brings valuable knowledge to a highly skilled and growing team.

I was on site for 3 weeks, where I helped with the construction of a fish pass, maintenance of a launder, water wheel and weir.  I also saw the installation of the gearbox, generator and control system.  The other half of my time was spent in the office where I helped out with design work, including AutoCAD and SketchUp.  I found this work experience excellent because I saw how a project is completed from design to commissioning.

The staff at WRE are very enthusiastic about micro hydro and are excellent people to work for.  They were very welcoming and allowed me to see all areas of micro hydro engineering.  The work was very interesting and all the staff were very helpful with any questions I had.

I was interested in the area of micro hydro before I started my work experience with WRE and now on completing this, I am even more interested in this area and hope to work in this industry in the future.

Kevin Smith

Work is also underway at what is likely to be the last installation of 2009, a small Pelton type turbine running off a healthy 55m of gross head.  WRE have carried out all design and licensing and are manufacturing Coanda type screening for the intake.  Dependant on delivery times, generation will commence just before or after the New Year.