The Royal family is getting ready to apply ancient technology to a medieval castle in order to find a solution to a modern problem. This week saw the delivery of two 40-tonne Archimedes' screws at Windsor Castle, which will be used to provide the Castle with hydroelectric power in order to reduce carbon emissions.
The screws, which cost £700,000, were put in place at Romney Weir on the River Thames and will be ready to operate from November. Although Archimedes invented the screw to raise water in Ancient Greece, London's new screws will work in the opposite way, being spun when water from the Weir falls. This motion will then turn a generator, which will produce energy.
Southeast Power Engineering, working in partnership with the Environment Agency, first proposed the scheme to the Royal household in 2007, and managing director David Dechambeau claimed officials were very keen, saying, "They want to do anything they can to reduce their carbon footprint".
The turbines are expected to generate around 1.7m kilowatt hours of electricity annually and will reduce carbon emissions by 790,000 kilos per year.
Barry Russell, the hydropower project leader for the Agency said, "This is a great opportunity for developers and community groups to get involved in generating clean, green electricity in an environmentally sustainable way. Weirs are an untapped source of energy and the Environment Agency is keen to ensure hydropower fulfils its potential as a small but useful renewable energy source, whilst protecting the environment."
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