Welcome to the Ludlow Hydro Co-Operative (LHC). The LHC is an Industrial and Provident Society which was created in 2015 to fund-raise and install an Archimedean screw turbine at Ludford Mill in Shropshire, for the purpose of generating hydro-electric renewable energy.
The mill stands on the south bank of the River Teme at Ludford, facing the town of Ludlow on the north bank. The adjoining weir is parabolic or horseshoe in plan, with its crest curving downstream towards each bank. At the centre or apex of the weir is a fish pass. The site of the Archimedes Screw is on the southern arm of the weir where it abuts Ludford Mill. Here, the turbine harnesses the River Teme to generate hydro-electricity from Ludlow’s Horseshoe Weir.*
A Design Study was carried out in 2011 by Mann Power Consulting Ltd which considered the potential for hydropower generation at this weir using an Archimedean screw turbine. A pre-application enquiry was made in 2011 to Shropshire Council, and discussions were reopened again in early 2014, prior to appropriate approvals being secured for the project to proceed the following year.
The Co-Operative has 170 members, based locally and from further afield, who share a passion for renewable energy. The scheme has been developed in collaboration with the Teme Weirs Trust. The Trust leases land to LHC, to derive income from the hydro scheme, to further its conservation programme.
The strategic objective of the LHC is to optimise returns from the hydro installation in order to pay back community investors over a twenty-year term, whilst promoting the concepts of renewable energy and energy efficiency within the wider community.
*CLICK HERE for a satellite view of the LHC’s operation at Ludford Mill.