Archimedes screws in place on River Don

These huge Archimedes screws were delivered to the project at Thrybergh weir near Kilnhurst where a hydropower plant is being created by Barn Energy and Yorkshire Hydropower Limited.

The two mighty machines were brought to the area by lorry and then lifted into place by a 200 tonne crane last Wednesday afternoon (July 29).

The Archimedes screws were manufactured by Spaans Babcock in Freisland, northern Holland, and were shipped via Rotterdam to the site for installation by the firm’s specialist installation team.

The screws are specially designed to allow safe passage of fish downstream by fitting special fish protection devices and each screw generator has a unique fully automated control system.

Mark Simon, chief executive of Barn Energy and director of Yorkshire Hydropower Limited, said the scheme is the biggest of its kind in Yorkshire and should be operating in the near future.

He told the Advertiser: “The massive twin Archimedes screws will generate up to 260kW for up to 10-11 months a year, generating enough electricity in a year to supply 300 local homes in perpetuity.

“The new power station consists of two Archimedes screw generators over 8m in length and weighing over 22 tonnes each with their gearboxes and generators.

“At over 3.5m wide, each screw can take up to 6½ tonnes of water every second.

“Yorkshire Hydropower is now investigating whether similar schemes near Wakefield and Knottingley on the Aire and Calder can be built.”

The system will be commissioned in September and formally opened in October. It is expected to generate power for more than 100 years.