Archie - Torrs Hydro's Archimedian screw turbine

Torrs Hydro New Mills Limited was established for the specific purpose of owning the Torrs Hydro Electric scheme by Torr Weir on the River Goyt in New Mills in the High Peak of Derbyshire. The project was started in 2006 by Water Power Enterprises (H2ope), a social enterprise whose mission is to set up small-scale hydro plants and reducing carbon emissions. They approached New Mills Town Council, who were very supportive of the scheme and quickly went about building support in the local community. To make the project happen capital was needed to build the plant. They received grants of £75,000 from East Midlands Development Agency and £45, 000 from the Co‑operative Fund, but the majority was raised from the community via a public share issue that was completed in January 2008. From 200 members, £97,000 was raised. As Torrs Hydro points out, 50% of the members are residents in New Mills and its immediate surrounding area, which indicates the strength of local support for the scheme. Unlike Baywind and other community owned wind farms established with the help of Energy4All, investor members of Torrs Hydro do not receive a share of the profits generated from the scheme. Instead the profits are either ploughed back into the scheme or used to help regenerate the New Mills and promote environmental sustainability in the town. The hydro plant consists of a 70kW Reverse Archimedean Screw with a diameter of 2.4 Metres. Based on records of river levels over the last 20 years, Torrs Hydro estimates that it will generate 70kW 45% of the time, meaning that approximately 260,000 Kilowatt hours (or units) will be generated annually. When the river level is low it will just turn off. Torrs Hydro in New Mills was thought to be the first community owned hydro plant in the UK, but Water Power Enterprise (H2ope) have a number of new projects, such as a similar project in Settle on Yorkshire, which began a community share offer in September 2008.