The Green Win Interreg project is looking for ways to reduce the high energy consumption of the pumps that control water levels in rivers and canals in North-West Europe (NWE) while simultaneously cutting their greenhouse gas emissions. Project partners in Belgium, France, the UK and the Netherlands are also improving water-management strategies.
- 07 January 2021
‘The biggest crisis we face at the moment is the climate crisis. It will, for the next few years, maybe decades, be the driving focus for our politics. And it’s very important to deliver on that, for the people, for the economy, the region, and for Europe as a whole.’
Laboratory trials are being carried out at the University of Liège in Belgium to make current pumping technologies more efficient and environmentally friendly. Research is being conducted to determine if renewable energy can be integrated into existing pumping technologies.
The most promising solutions are being tested at 11 pilot sites across the UK, Ireland and France. The aim is for SMEs and pump manufacturers to adapt these solutions.
An investment, procurement and business plan set out in a Green Practices Toolkit is helping waterways authorities to better plan their pump replacement schemes. A Greener Waterways Network is promoting the project’s findings and encouraging water authorities outside the partnership to adopt the improved processes.
Benefits flow from canals
NWE accounts for 46 % of the EU’s GDP, but is also the biggest CO2 emitter and one of the highest energy-consuming regions in the EU. Pumping water accounts for up to 33 % of water authorities’ annual electricity use and 20 % of their total emissions.
According to the lead partner Canal & River Trust, waterways that once played a vital role in the industrial revolution are gaining new importance in the current ‘green’ revolution.
Canal water can be used to both heat and cool homes and businesses in towns and cities, to generate electricity and to help flooding. Towpaths can serve as cycle lanes, while using waterways instead of roads for freight transport reduces carbon emissions. Canals also play a part in preserving habitats and providing leisure spaces in cities.
Protecting the environment
In the Heusden-Zolder municipality in Belgium, the operation of six pumps used to drain excess water from a former coal-mining subsidence area, diverting it into the Mangelbeek River, is being studied as part of a land-development plan.
Currently, the old, energy-consuming pumps ensure farmland and gardens do not get flooded. However, it was discovered that one of the pumps was extracting too much water. The area is peatland which, when it dries out, releases a lot of CO2. Changes to the pumping regime helped to improve this situation.
The water that is pumped off currently flows into the Mangelbeek. Options for making better use of it could include wetting a drier plot of ground further away and diverting it to fill the moat around Mylandt Castle, which would benfit the area’s environment, recreational pursuits and heritage, explains Stan Forier, with project partner Vlaamse Landmaatschappij.
In the UK, two new energy-efficient pumps were installed at the pumping station located at the Gloucester Docks. Each pump can fill an Olympic-size swimming pool in 21 minutes. They are easier to maintain and are expected to cut the pumping station’s electricity bill by around 10 %.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Green Win” is EUR 2 450 000, with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 1 470 000 through the “Interreg North-West Europe” Cooperation Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period. The investment falls under the priority “low carbon”.