Step 1:

Phone us on 01691 648 378 and have a chat. We can talk through your ideas and generally get a feeling for how feasible they are.

Step 2:

We'll send you some literature on hydro and we'll also send you a self-survey form (or download here).

Step 3:

Send us a self-survey form and return it to us - we just need some basic information about your proposed hydro site, such as grid references for the highest and lowest points of the watercourse on your land. The more information you can provide the better. We can then use this information to do an office based study of your site and give you some approximate ideas of power output, income and installation costs. We don't charge for this stage.

Step 4:

Assuming your property is suitable we can come and do a preliminary site survey for you. This normally takes about half a day on site.

At this point you can talk through any issues or concerns that you have and ask about anything you are still unclear about.

Based on the survey, we will send you a preliminary report for your hydro site. This will include a rainfall catchment assessment and approximate estimates of the watercourse flow rates throughout the year. It will also give you estimates of the installation cost and the return you can expect. We will also do desk-based assessments of nearby ecological and archaeological sites which might have impacts on the project. 

Step 5:

If you choose to proceed, the next step is to make preliminary applications to the Environment Agency or Natural Resources Wales, the local planning authority and the Distribution Network Operator (the company that manages the national grid in your area). This will determine the quantities of water you can abstract for the scheme and what issues there may be with planning permission and connecting to the national grid. To make a pre application to Natural Resources Wales we would need to carry out a Geomorphological Stage 1 Photo Survey which usually takes one day on site and another day to write up. This is a basic survey looking at the issues surrounding sediment transfer in the watercourse. If you prefer, we can make these applications on your behalf for a fee. This step usually takes one to two months.

Step 6:

Once you have responses from Natural Resources Wales, the local planning authority and the Distribution Network Operator, the next stage is the detailed design. We come to the site with surveying equipment to get precise details of the head available and to peg out all the site components. We will then produce a detailed design with architectural drawings of the intake weir, power house and the penstock route. This step usually takes about 6 weeks.

If ecological, tree or archaeological surveys have been requested by the relevant authorities, we will work closely with these experts, marking out the site components with them to satisfy their concerns, after which we will complete the detailed design surveying work.

Step 7:

The detailed designs will be enough to make a planning application and the licence applications to Natural Resources Wales. If you prefer, we can do these for you. It usually takes about 4 months to get the licences and planning permission in place, but it can take considerably longer if there are complications such as sensitive habitats on the site.

Step 8:

You place orders for the parts (turbine, generator, controller,  intake weir screen, pipes, armoured cables, etc).

Step 9:

Step 10:

You start generating your own electricity from hydro power.

Step 11:

We provide all the hand-over training and operating manuals. We can also help you to set up a contract for your electricity export.