Screw Generators to power Iconic Clock Tower

One of the huge Screws in manufacture at the Spaans factory

Spaans Babcock is in the process of installing two huge Screw Generators within the boundary of the Lake District National Park, at the Southern end of Lake Windermere. The equipment is to be installed at the site of a former gunpowder works in Low Wood, Haverthwaite and will use water from the River Leven.

Each screw has a diameter of 3 metres, is 19 metres long and weighs around 40 tonnes. They have a combined power output of over 400 kW when operating at their full capacity of 4,000 l/s each. This capacity and the head of 7.2 metres make it one of the largest Archimedes screw hydro power stations in the World. The largest being Teesside which has four screws, generating a combined power output of 520 kW - also supplied and installed by Spaans Babcock.

The system will be controlled by Spaans' in-house developed integrated control system. This utilises ABB regenerative drives to achieve maximum output whilst keeping noise to a minimum.

The projected annual power output of the scheme is up to 1,946 MWh per annum, equivalent to the annual average energy useage of more than 400 family homes. As the electricity generated is clean and green - this equates to a saving in carbon dioxide (CO₂) missions of more than 1,000 tonnes.

Spaans Babcock is installing the equipment for Low Wood Products Company Ltd via project managers RG Parkins. Spaans is responsible for the complete M&E package; including the supply of control gates, electrical panels, interconnecting cabling, and all installation and commissioning. The civil works are being undertaken by JN Bentley, with whom Spaans have partnered on numerous other hydro schemes.

Some of the power generated will be used to power the Clock Tower, a Grade II listed building at the site which is in the process of being converted into environmentally friendly office units. Surplus electricity will be sold to the National Grid under the governments Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) scheme.

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