Today is my first day on this website.
I was a little disappointed in the responses to the story posted by Soapman.
Firstly, thanks to Bill for posting.
Secondly, just because I am not a member of your discussion group, it should not be discarded. This is a very important issue that we are having, and should be addressed by all members that wish to produce Hydro and sell back to the grid. We must all keep an open mind on all issues that come up whether it is on this group or not. RIGHT?
Anyways, enough ranting...Here is our story.
My wife and I purchased a beautiful piece of property just outside of Lanark Ontario. In a ghost town call HERRON MILLS. The history of this town can be found on the internet for your reading pleasure. This town was a striving hub back 150 years ago with 40 people living here, working at the Grist and Lumber mills. The equipment in the mills was powered by the River.
Our idea is to restore the mills and produce hydro to sell back to the grid as well as develop a Green subdivision (16 homes) that will be powered by the turbine in the mill.
We have gone through all of the required steps for hydro generation and it was a long and painful experience for us (2 years.) But we have been able to establish that we do own the water rights and have the right to dam the river and produce hydro.
The current issue is that we require an Environmental Assessment to be completed before funding is available from banking institutions (up to 100K.) There is no money/grants out there for a PRIVATE individual on privately owned land that wishes to produce hydro to sell back to the grid unless it is community based.
Our station will produce 1mW of power per year (confirmed) and will power up to 800 homes. It will also show revenues of $ 100K/year on average. To date we are unable to find that person or lending institution that will lend money to us for the Environmental Assessment. In some countries this is not an issue and is actually promoted but not in Canada that I know of.
I believe that this is a big issue for individuals that see potential and have a long term goal. This needs to be fixed.
That is what Soapman was trying to relay to this discussion group. Again thanks
Thank you
Ed Weaver
By posting your query directly yourself [and responding promptly to dialog] you will ensure that you get the best help we can offer.
It also means open discussion here, rather than in private which is the point of this forum. It allows future readers to harvest the information that otherwise would be locked up in your inbox.
The board does not exist to help commercial ventures,[paid consultants exist for that specific purpose]. It exists to help DIY types to make their electricity from scratch.
Welcome to the board. TomW