Conventional energy generation –through the burning of fossil fuels or nuclear fission – has wreaked havoc on the planet and humanity is paying the price. Unfavourable weather patterns, deforestation, polluted rivers and radioactive contamination is just part of the legacy being left for present and future generations by the mainstream methods of producing electricity. For many people, there is an overwhelming feeling of powerlessness when they turn to consider a response to the challenges facing humanity. Indeed, what can one person do? It becomes easy to ignore, or dismiss as futile, the thought of responding to them.
However, one group of local people is acting to create a community response which will we can all be proud of. The Ham Hydro project represents people standing up for what they believe in and taking action, even as we stand in the shadows of the enormous challenges of the day. Ham Hydro is a community interest company established in 2010 to generate clean, renewable energy from the River Thames – energy that will have no detrimental impact on the environment and will just keep being produced as long as the river flows.
Almost inevitably, our planning application has been the subject of some controversy as we wait for our local Council to make a decision on it. The neighbouring property, the Lensbury Club, is a private members club/hotel located on land owned by Shell and, despite our having commissioned several reports showing that we can ensure that any noise emitted by the turbines will fall within the limits imposed by Richmond Council, the Club is opposing the application on the grounds that our project will create a detrimental noise and visual impact.
The Club has sent an email to its members with several mock-up views of the scheme from the grounds and asked them to comment unfavourably on our application. I’ve uploaded some of these mock-ups on the right – the red building is the transformer housing and doesn’t have to be red at all. In addition, the picture gives the impression that our scheme will tower above the existing roller sluice gate (the white structure in the background) – this is not the case.
It’s all very disappointing – we have felt all along that the scheme could be seen as a new and interesting feature for the Club. It would do them and Shell proud as a display of their support for renewable energy (especially community-led energy schemes). Despite its obvious focus on fossil-fuels, Shell itself champions the cause of renewable energy: “Up to 30% of the world’s energy mix could come from renewables in 2050, with fossil fuels and nuclear providing the rest. At Shell we are finding ways to provide energy from cleaner sources and help customers use energy more efficiently”. So how are we going to progress these dreams? When things get close to home, suddenly we realise we are all implicated in this effort – we are all in this together – and we must find a way to provide a sustainable future for future generations.
We need your support once more to show that our community is full of people who want to take some positive action on climate and energy issues: please support our application (you may do so again if you already have done) at http://bit.ly/152G2VB citing your reasons, if you agree such as:
· you believe the scheme can operate within any noise conditions placed on it by Richmond Council
· you do not believe that the scheme will have a negative visual impact (bear in mind that the general public will only see the scheme from the Teddington footbridge or from the Ham side of the river, not close-up)
· the benefit to the community in terms of taking positive action on climate change and energy generation issues.
Our case is due to be heard at the planning committee meeting on either 26th September or 10th October at 7pm at York House, Twickenham. We would be happy to see you there and will keep you updated. Thank you.
Based on a letter and update from Chas Warlow, Ham Hydro CIC
Ham Hydro is a community interest company formed to develop renewable energy and other sustainable projects for the benefit of the local community. www.hamhydro.org
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