In June we visited Papplewick Pumping Station and underground reservoir which was built by the celebrated engineer Thomas Hawksley in 1879 and once stored the water that the beam engines pumped to the surface. This beautiful place was designed in the early 1880s to pump millions of gallons of clean fresh water every day to the rapidly increasing population of Industrial Nottingham. It is now protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument which is the highest preservation order that can be bestowed upon a site in England. It was a very wet day, but the group were well prepared for the weather and had a thoroughly enjoyable visit, including being taken by tractor and trailer to tour the underground reservoir!
In September, nineteen of us visited Severn Trent Green Power Stoke Bardolph Crop Anaerobic Digester Facility which is a major renewable energy and sewage treatment facility operated by Severn Trent Water. It processes agricultural energy crops (maize) to generate green biogas, electricity, and organic fertilizer which is spread on local farmland. The digester comprises four pre-fermentation units from which material is fed into two secondary fermentation units and then finally to a single container where the last of the methane is extracted. Stoke Bardolph produces solid digestate which can be used by soil improver manufacturers as a peat replacement, while the liquid digestate is an alternative for farmers to use as a land fertiliser.
Visit the HDTDT web page if you want to know more about our group or contact Sue Baines, the Group Leader.