Energy campaigners warn that new hydropower projects to transform and preserve some of the country’s historic mills could be destroyed by a massive increase in application fees.
Some watermills already have turbines installed to produce clean electricity. But campaigners claim there are many more in Britain that could be converted into hydropower to conserve the sites and provide power for the nation.
Now, the Environment Agency is under fire for disallowing small-scale hydropower schemes that can be installed in watermills. After raising application fees on 1 April in England from 1,500, to fees ranging between 6,110 and 13,392, some cases a 790% increase, the costs have risen to 6.110 to 13.392. A decade ago, the fee for applying for a hydropower program was only 135.
It is possible that many potential schemes will be impossible to afford if the application fails.
Sir Jonathon Porritt was an environmentalist and the former director of Friends of the Earth.
This reckless vandalism must be stopped before it causes more damage.
In Britain, watermills first appeared in Roman times. More than 6,000 were found across the country by the 11th Century. Most mills were used for grinding corn. Many were built in the second half 18th century to power mechanised cotton production.
By the 19th century, there were more than 20,000 watermills across Britain. They were used for everything from powering forge-hammers to paper production and grinding bones for fertiliser. Many of these watermills were abandoned and eventually fell into disuse.
In recent years, there has been a push to repurpose watermills into hydropower schemes. There have been many successful projects all across the country. Rupert Armstrong Evans (72), an engineer who lives at Trecarrell Mill, 600-years-old, near Launceston, Cornwall, stated that he wanted a new hydropower system to replace an outdated one, but was faced with many obstacles by the Environment Agency.
Armstrong Evans had been advising on potential schemes at watermill locations and said it would be almost impossible for them now because of the new fees, including his scheme. He said that application charges for a small hydropower system and water source heat pumps at a typical mill would amount to more than 19,000
This means that working watermills will be lost to history because mill owners won’t be able to pay the cost or negotiate the bureaucracy involved. Along with the millstreams, weirs, and millstreams that have been a fixture of the British landscape ever since the Norman Conquest will be gone.
Members of the Wyre Mill club, a social and boating group at a former watermill near Pershore in Worcestershire, wanted to harness the power in the under-mills for a hydropower scheme. However, they consider that the new application fees are excessive.
David Stanford, chair of Wyre Mill Club committee said: This actually renders it unfeasible. Members are accountable to us on how we spend their money. It is absurd to pay 15,000 for application fees. We hope that the government will reconsider this.
There are approximately 1,560 hydropower projects in the UK. The minimum cost of a scheme costs around 35,000. Although the government has stated in its impact assessment that it may discourage small hydropower projects, there have only been a few applications in recent times.
According to the agency, its staff costs for water abstraction applications are approximately 100 per hour. It wants to raise the charges to reflect these costs. The new charging system is intended to protect the environment, and England’s long-term water supply.
Simon Hamlyn is the chief executive of British Hydropower Association (BHA). He stated that while the idea of hundreds old mills being restored and preserved in pristine condition is attractive, the Environment Agency has put an end to new hydropower development in England.
Nuclear Free Local Authorities, a group representing councils who support renewable energy, wrote to Rebecca Pow to request that small hydropower schemes be exempt from the charges. David Blackburn (chair of the NFLA) stated: This increase in charges is outrageous and illogical.
A spokesperson for the Environmental Agency stated that while we support sustainable growth and renewables’ contribution, it must be done in a way that protects the environment. The climate is changing [hydroelectric power]Application charges reflect the complexity of determining a license and the time it takes due to many and broad-ranging environmental risks.
