Sustainability & Hydro-Electrics

Here at The Mill we have a sustainable & circular economy approach to life. Our greatest goal is to become European Micro Hydro Electric Producers, alongside all the creative pursuits at The Mill.

My love affair with The Mill started 5 years ago, following much negotiation I moved from my London life to South West France in November 2018.

The Mill Project has always been a people project. Connection, Creativity, Community, these are the things that matter, this is what I came here to cultivate, it’s what The Mill project is all about.

A way of life that is about supporting one another, creating connections and friendships, living the fullest, most authentic lives that we are able to. Always open to continual learning and growth. Sharing our hopes, dreams, visions and inspiring each other along the way.

Hand in hand with our core values, is the sustainable way of living that we choose to align with.

A way of life that realises we are part of the planet, part of a system that we belong to. A way of life that recognises the planet is not a resource for us to dominate and exploit. A way of living that acknowledges we are accountable for the choices we make. Choosing to make change and live the life that feels right to us, connected, with people and planet - equally.

It’s important to remember after all that ‘We all come from Star Dust’ - not WooWoo just fact. More and more people are realising just how connected to each other and the planet we actually are.

Aligning with the principles of The Circular Economy, with a Triple bottom line, People, Planet and not just Profit.

Our Sustainability Approach

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) for 2030

We are focusing on the following Sustainable Development Goals in particular:

SDG 3 - Good Health and well-being

SDG 7 - Affordable and clean energy.

SDG 11- Sustainable Cities and communities

SDG 12- Responsible Consumption and Production

SDG 13- Climate Action

Where we can create the most significant change is with SDG 7 - affordable and clean energy. And we will need your help to do achieve it.

Becoming a European Hydro Electric Green Energy Supplier

The Mill was built before 1789, and is shown on the first officially recognised topographical and geometric map of France – The Carte de Cassini, see the extract in the images above. We discovered last week (Feb2021) that it may even have foundations built as early as the 17th Century.

Here flour was produced until the year 2000, exported all over the world. There are flour sacks remaining here with Arabic writing on where the flour was exported to Tripoli.

All the machinery - and there was a lot as you’ll see from the blueprints below - to transform the grain into flour was powered by the turbine which was installed circa 1935 as part of the then modernisation. The turbine is still here, in place. It is recognised by those in the industry as a workhorse, solid and reliable. The ideal is to recommission the existing turbine to generate green electricity, enough to supply the majority of the energy used at The Mill, and plenty to supply the green grid, it has the capacity to produce around 65kwph.

The process has begun, a feasibility study has been commissioned, and a geological study will follow shortly. It is a large, but fair straightforward project from the engineering perspective, as the infrastructure, the river, waterfall and feeder canal, and some of the key mechanical elements are already in place.

As you might imagine, there is a hideous amount of paperwork to wade through, with a plethora of departments, bureaus and administrative bodies involved in the process. I am not exactly within my comfort zone here, but I have great faith in the Project Leader appointed. As well as patience and faith the project will also require significant investment. Initially this put me off even attempting to get this part of the Mill project off the ground, but that changed. That changed after watching David Attenborough’s: A Life on Our Planet.

It was after watching this that I realised I was not comfortable with ignoring the incredible opportunity to make real change happen. I felt it to be grotesque not to give it a go. I am doing this for everyone, not myself. And to not do it, just because the investment required was a few more zeros then I am comfortable with, really is not a good enough reason to let an amazing opportunity literally float past my doorstep.

So the intention is set and the initial studies have commenced. There is much work to be done, problems to be solved, investment to be found, but I know I that I’m not doing this on my own. Sign up to our newsletter to be kept up to date on how you can help with this amazing project, and please ‘Spread the Love!’

In the meantime here are some juicy photos of a very handsome but muddy Turbine and some blueprints to drool over!

Blue-prints for the modernisation of The Mill dated 1926 (later revisions followed)

This is the turbine, in the drained down, but very muddy canal - the wheel that the turbine connects to is in another chamber