I am delighted to say that my invitation for someone to take over as administrator of the mha has been taken up by Kate Gilmartin.
Kate has excellent credentials having herself set up a forum for communities with potential hydropower schemes to share information and experiences and act as a mutual support group. Kate also acts as an independent advisor on CO2 reduction and is an Associate of CO2Sense. The mha administrator's email address will remain unchanged and for the time being the website will be kept in the same format as now. Following a handover period, during which I will remain involved, Kate will be writing to outline any proposed developments in the structure and constitution of the mha and in its links with others who have similar aims. Building up the mha's membership and its activities over the last 3+ years has been a rewarding experience and I would like to thank the many people who have responded to surveys and supported our attempts to improve the opportunities for micro hydro schemes to be developed. Please contact Kate via [email protected] if you have ideas you would like to see considered or points you wish to raise concerning the way forward for the mha. Gavin King-Smith
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This is an initiative of the River Energy Networks (REN)/Mendip Power Group, a hydropower association in England which gained an opportunity to send the Secretary of State for Energy, Ed Davey, the top ten problems facing micro hydropower.
Please complete this form (MS Word format, Adobe .pdf format) and send to Rachel Feilden ([email protected]) or respond directly to the questions as set out in here This could help us all if REN can demonstrate a high number of responses from the industry and potential and actual generators. I have now drafted a response on behalf of the mha to the supplementary consultation by the Environment Agency (EA) on regulating abstraction of water for hydropower. The response is available here.
There have been hundreds of responses from people with angling interests who have been led to believe there is a threat from hydropower schemes to the rivers they fish. I am certain that this is not the case for the majority of the small scale hydropower schemes that you generators, potential generators, supporters, and suppliers of services are concerned with. There are now 170 members of the mha - let all our voices be heard! DEADLINE FOR RESPONSES: 2 APRIL 2013 23:39 I would ask you to spend the very small amount of time it will take to respond on-line to the EA consultation so that they are not faced with choosing an approach which I believe could act as an extreme constraint on any further micro hydropower development in England and Wales. There are some concerns with “option 1” of the four options presented by the EA, but I and others deeply involved with hydropower, including the British Hydropower Association, consider it the only option of the four that can be acceptable in the short term. For micro hydropower I am, as you will have read before, proposing a much simplified registration process for low impact schemes. I will be including this redraft of the proposed process with my consultation response. The redraft incorporates amendments to cover the comments on the first draft that some of you have helpfully provided (see this version showing the amendments). I will also now be pursuing this draft proposal with DECC, DEFRA, environment agencies and other departments and agencies. So please submit your response to the EA consultation , even if only to select option 1 as your preferred option of the four (unless of course you disagree!). The preferred method of response is on-line here: https://consult.environment-agency.gov.uk/portal/ho/br/standards/hydro or you can send an email or postal response to: Eileen Falkner ([email protected], 01179344185) Environment Agency Horizon House Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AH I have been involved for some time in discussions with departments and agencies on the way micro hydro schemes are regulated and on other matters affecting their development. I have now drafted a paper which proposes ways to lessen the burden both for potential scheme owners and developers, and for agencies and planning authorities.
It is alarming that the few suppliers with real experience are now abandoning micro hydro owing largely to the delays and complexities of the red tape - hundreds of valuable schemes risk delay or abandonment otherwise. Please contribute your comments and ideas in response to this entry. I am often asked what training is available for people wishing to become installers or to train others. There is to my knowledge very little available, although hydropower is covered in some engineering further education programmes.
IF YOU KNOW OF ANY USEFUL COURSES FOCUSSING ON MICRO-HYDRO, PLEASE COMMENT ON THIS ENTRY |
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