In early 2009, an assortment of Ham and Petersham residents started a journey of discovery. We had come together to investigate the possibility of harnessing hydro power at Teddington weir and providing energy for our local community. We had no compass, but we did have a guide and a vehicle: the river. With the help of two guys called Paul, who work on an eyot –  Platt’s Eyot, to be precise – we started thinking about how we wanted to move the idea downstream. The Pauls duly produced a feasibility study showing that 3 fish-friendly Archimedean screw turbines on the weir would generate enough power for 500 homes, but as we considered the magnitude of the project we stalled – it’s a big commitment to try to raise £1,500,000 from local sources. Also, we wanted the project to provide some tangible local benefit: could we power our local school or schools? Could we install an electric vehicle charging point? Could we have a dedicated substation for Ham? What did it mean to sell the energy back to the national grid? Could we sell the electricity to a single customer (television studio, the Lensbury)? Did we want to? Some people just wanted the project to happen and didn’t mind who was running it – we just want to reduce our carbon emissions, they said, so what does it matter who does it?

Just before Christmas last year some new impetus was added to the group with new members and a determination to get moving. After some internal changes, we sharpened our vision of what we would like to see: renewable electricity generation that brings tangible benefits to the local community. We want to put the income generated from selling that electricity back into further low-carbon solutions in Ham. What does that mean? Well, it means we could help to fund you to install a heat pump in your home, school, business, whatever. Or solar thermal for your hot water. Or help in training up to become a fitter of solar panels. Or help to fund innovative ideas. Suddenly everything is coming together and we’re in the process of incorporating our steering group into a CIC (community interest company). We have a ton of local support: the Council, our MP and local environmental and community groups. We’ll be forming a partnership with Richmond Council to take the project forward, but we still want to impress our vision on the project.

Every time I go past Teddington weir now I think about the potential power there. Maybe you can do the same and imagine the benefits....the story goes on.