Dane Valley Community Energy, is planning to install and operate a hydro-electric generation plant on the River Dane at Havannah Weir, Congleton.

The weir, which has been in place for more than 250 years, will be re-used to generate energy from rainwater – making clean, renewable power that will have a positive impact on the environment.

Siemens Digital Industries, a major business in Congleton, has agreed to purchase the green electricity generated from the plant, helping them to combat the climate emergency.

The Congleton Hydro Community Share scheme aims to raise £730,000 from the local community to fund the plant.

Any surpluses from the sale of the green electricity will be used to support local projects that focus on creating a sustainable environment.

The hydro-electric generation plant will remain in place for many years, meaning that the community will continue to benefit from the sustainable energy it will produce.

The plant will also be a valuable educational resource to increase awareness of environmental issues for local children.

The hydro installation will consist of a 2.5m diameter, 8m long Archimedes screw driving a 75kW electrical generator, generating enough renewable, clean power for 60 homes.

Councillor Nick Mannion, Cheshire East Council cabinet member for environment and regeneration, said: "In May 2019, the council noted the UK declaration of a climate emergency and committed to being carbon neutral by 2025.

"As part of this commitment, we will encourage all businesses, residents and organisations in Cheshire East to reduce their carbon footprint by reducing energy consumption and promoting healthy lifestyles.

"We therefore welcome this scheme as an example of how local communities can make a real impact on the future sustainability of the borough."

Paul Guymer, chair of Dane Valley Community Energy said: "About three years ago local volunteers with professional backgrounds in engineering, management and finance formed Dane Valley Community Energy with the aim of promoting projects to increase the awareness of climate change issues.

"The Congleton hydro-electric scheme is the first such project, which has now been fully designed and costed, and has all of the permissions necessary to build and operate.

"Not only will the project deliver carbon-free power, but it will also generate funds for local community projects and environmentally focused educational initiatives for adults and school children alike.

"We want as many people, organisations and businesses as possible, especially locals, to become members of the society and support this community hydro scheme."

Andrew Peters, managing director of Siemens Digital Industries, Congleton said: "Siemens have been supportive of this project from its inception.

"It provides an excellent opportunity for business and the local community to work together to provide practical solutions to the environmental problem of global warming which is affecting us all.

"Our manufacturing site at Congleton is always striving to improve its sustainability by reducing carbon emissions and to enhance its interactions with the local community.

"This project will achieve this and also strengthen the extensive efforts we already make to encourage local school children to participate in scientific and technical studies by providing a tangible educational resource for use by local schools and colleges."

Peter Aston, of Congleton's Sustainability Group, attended last Thursday's Congleton Town Council meeting of Community and Environment Committee to give an update on the Congleton Hydro project.

Mr Aston stated that the group has led the project to provide hydro power in the town for nearly eight years.

He stated the group tried very hard to put a scheme together on the town weir some years ago, but for "complicated reasons" it didn't materialise.

Mr Aston said: "We have always known that the weir in Havannah village is a glorious piece of industrial heritage, it happens to be one of the highest weirs in the country at 4.1m and providing hydropower is all about the depth.

"So, once the town weir project failed, we started to work hard on producing a project around here, it's taken four years of hard work by a bunch of volunteers to get to the stage where we are tonight."

The scheme has a 25-year life cycle and will be using feed-in tariffs which produces renewable energy through the OfGem which then pays for each kilowatt hour of energy produced.

To qualify for the feed-in tariff, Mr Aston told the committee that the hydro needed to be built by the 31st March 2021.

Mr Aston added: "People invest money into the scheme, we pay them back for their capital and an interest sum over 25 years, our business plan talks about that being 4% per annum, so I would claim that is better then what you get in a bank at the moment."

Mr Aston stated that the group cannot place any orders for any of the capital works or capital equipment until they have got the full £730,000 in the bank.

At the time of the meeting, the project had raised £345,000.

Mr Aston stated that the group has given themselves a two-month window to reach the target.

The Share Offer will close when fully subscribed or on 31st March 2020.

The group has an application for £100,000 capital with the Community Shares UK-who provide national support for these types of schemes.

Mr Aston continued: "After four-years of hard work with this thing, we're going to get the money, it doesn't matter what we have to do get the money, we are going to get it."

The minimum donation people can make to the project is £100, with the maximum being £70,000.

Mr Aston revealed that only 30% of the £345,000 raised at the time of the meeting had come from the people of Congleton.

Mr Aston added: "I think I always thought that most of the money would come from the town because the town would feel it is something that they wanted to be part of, but that is not the case we have got people from Inverness, Cornwall and a number of people from London investing in the scheme.

"We are using social media to reach as many people as we can. We had been concentrating on the Congleton area up until a few days ago, but now we are paying for Facebook adverts within a 50 mile radius on Congleton and also interestingly a 20 mile radius on Bristol because Bristol's a well-known green city and has the reputation for investing in these things."

Mr Aston described the scheme as a "genuine town project", which wasn't going to "carry the town off the back of it" but all along the Dane Valley Community Energy team have felt that it would be the start of "several" potential renewable energy schemes they could do in the town.

Mr Aston said: "Genuinely, I think this is something all of us can be proud of, there aren't that many of these hydro schemes in the country and it's a big tick in the box of the agenda that we are all trying to pursue."

Councillor Paul Duffy queried what the Plan B would be if Siemens "got up and left" in 10 years time.

Mr Aston said: "They don't think it is a possibility at all, but we live in a very strange and rapidly changing world and the worst would be that we would go back to the export tariff and we've done business plans on that basis.

"If we had to go back to the standard model then that would be a shame and we don't want to do that."

As of today, the project had raised £391,000.

You can read more information about the Congleton hydro-electric scheme here.