“I really welcome this celebration of Cornish history and culture, but especially the link with climate change actions. We have a greater chance of changing our ways if young people stand up and take a lead, through just this type of educational initiative.” Edwina Hannaford, Council Cabinet member for Climate Change & Neighbourhoods

GREEN FUTURE ACTIONS 1st Edition - May 2021 This supplement is an adjunct to a larger book, about the man above - Joseph Treffry. But here, rather than looking back at his life, we are looking forward & asking one big question: - ‘What would he tell us to do, in order to meet the ambitious 2030 target for Cornwall to become Carbon Neutral?’ In the following pages, you will find a wide range of ideas. Some we know to be practical as they are being tested right now. Others may seem fanciful or crazy. But that’s fine, because we need not 100s but 1000s of ideas to be proposed and evaluated, very fast. If only a handful prove feasible then these Treffry flights of fancy will have been worthwhile. Find out more and sign your support online at http://www.betterways2learn.co.uk/green-campaigns/ © C. Stephenson 2021 Printed & Sponsored by St Austell Print Company SAPC is recognised as one of Cornwall’s most sustainable businesses

GREEN FUTURE ACTIONS INTRODUCTION Joseph Austen Treffry was an exceptional entrepreneur and mining engineer from . Although he would not describe himself this way, he was a Green Activitist throughout his life. His special expertise was creating hydro energy systems (water and water wheels) rather than making power from coal and steam. He was so ahead of his time!

CONTENTS Pages 3 & 4 Green Action ideas for Fowey area, linked to Episode 1 of Treffry Tales. Topics = Pasture improvements & carbon sequestration; tree planting & the Forest for Cornwall; methane reduction in dairy farming; hydro energy & storage around Hill Hay. Pages 5 & 6 Green Action ideas for Valley leat system, linked to Episode 2. Topics = Lower and Upper leats (1823 & 1839) + turbine 2006; analysis of water sources; proposals for types of wheel and turbine in new locations; link to Open University info. Pages 7 & 8 Green Action ideas for Par Harbour + other soon-to-be-redundant clay-drying and storing facilities, linked with Episode 3 tales. Topics = Building site waste management; new types of building materials & hydro energy storage; innovative green construction techniques; all-in-one insulated roofs; wind pods. Pages 9 & 10 Green Action ideas for long abandoned mine houses & shafts, of Episode 4. Topics = storage of energy, dropping weights down shafts; also super capacitor electrodes. Pages 11 & 12 Green Action ideas related to Granite and other rocks in Episode 5. Topics = mining opportunities today, geo-thermal energy & lithium brine, lithium rocks. Pages 13 & 14 Green Action ideas linked to Treffry’s legacies in Episode 6. Topics =

2 GREEN FUTURE ACTIONS 1 What would Treffry do for the FOWEY and GOLANT area, if he were alive today?

First he would take a hard look at the farming practices on his land. We’ve heard how very committed he was to improving the soil with lime. This has recently been recognised as still relevant today:-

Staying with farming, there are already experiments happening on dairy farms locally to gather data and establish baselines in a study of carbon sequestration in grass pastures. The image left is from an organic farm called Mossgiel in Scotland, to show us that dairy farm- ing is not so bad for CO2! Good quality grass- land can more than offset what cows produce. Although Treffry cut down some trees, we also know that in one season he planted 30,000! No doubt he would support & encourage Cornwall Council plans for a Forest of over 13m new trees. Where could the planting occur in this area? And more widely in Treffry territory? Search ’Grow

more trees’ at Cornwall Wildlife Trust for advice. Another thing he might ask us to support is the very recent switch by Westcountry Mussels of Fowey, from seafood to seaweed farming, in St. Austell Bay. Again this links with cows!

Experiments in California and Japan have shown that including some types of seaweed in food for cows, can achieve a great reduction in methane emissions. The most effective so far seems to have been a tropical red seaweed, but UK seaweed, such as kelp, may still produce good results. However, the commercial growth & harvesting of kelp could be damaging to habitats. And ironically, global warming may see a decline in kelp in our wa- ters. As with all new initiatives, it is often a question of weighing up conflicting require- ments. See https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.597430/full 3 GREEN FUTURE ACTIONS 1

Lastly, seeing on the 1908 map that there were 4 reservoirs on the hillside, from Trezare to Higher Penventinue, Lower Penventinue and a ‘Shipping Reservoir’ near Lescrow (now seemingly a storage unit for boats) what use is being made of the other 3? And where is the water, surely it cannot all have disappeared (a question recently posed to South West Water)? So could we pipe water in a ’penstock’ from on high, building up pressure for driving a turbine system close to Hill Hay workshops & Mill Pool Yard? We will elaborate on some of the technical aspects of this in Episode 2. Thank you for permission to reproduce this image from the U.S. Department of Energy (who incidentally have a rather impressive and fascinating section called the Water Power Technologies Office with an equally interesting annual progress report https://www.energy.gov/eere/ water/water-power-technologies-office-accomplishments- 2019-2020). The UK could learn from this! Although our government put out the statement below, in practice it is still way too hard to achieve.

A wonderful end to this would be enabling a change of Fowey Town Buses to electric, powered by hydro, which would need grant funding & Cornwall Council support. If not viable, then there is a Western Power substation close by, to feed the grid and/or residences and workshops which could receive power. What next? Feasibility studies ... 1) Let’s encourage the farmers to work with the seaweed company & Exeter University. 2) For the reservoirs, keep pushing South West Water. Then, as Fowey is home to a company which makes wheels and turbines - www.freeflow69.com, let’s commission a feasibility study combining a hydro expert such as www.on-stream.co.uk in Devon, or (further away in Stroud) https://www.renewablesfirst.co.uk/project-blog/case-study- kenningstock-mill-river-camel-cornwall/

4 GREEN FUTURE ACTIONS 2 What would Treffry do with the leats, if he were alive today? We would totally understand if he wanted to focus entirely on replacing the water wheel in the pit (wouldn’t we all love that?). But he was not emotional or sentimental; hence surely he would tell us to think more widely of locations and types of wheel or turbine.

Doubtless Treffry would be disappointed that the successful ten years of turbine operation in Penpell Wood came to an end. But, in the longer term, perhaps that is not such a great location. What about others? Well, there will be major problems to solve, before any new installation in top or lower leat. First ownership of land: - the relevant areas are split between Cornwall Council, The Cornwall Heritage Trust and local private landowners … we have already heard how challenging that was 200 years ago, and it would be again. Secondly, previous flood risks:- residents in the Bridges area of Luxulyan would be totally opposed to re-starting the top leat, because it used to back-up and flood their houses quite regularly. Thirdly connection to the grid. Western Power has two different substations, previously connected into hydro turbines, close to Ponts Mill. They are on private land, but hopefully could be re-activated. Lastly and most critically, water supply. At least 50% of the water previously available has been switched off to protect the masonry of the aqueduct. But could more water be found? Further up the hill? Well, possibly. Suitable Poncelet wheel, from Free Flow69 When you read Episode 5 and see the aerial pics of 2 flooded quarries, it does suggest another option. There could be a steel or GRP (glass reinforced plastic) launder or large pipe, probably above ground, draining water from the quarries along the redundant Colcerrow tramway. Would this be viable financially? If it could be, then the wheel pit is much closer to the water source for a new wheel to be installed, instead of the 2006 turbine site.

5 Readers who want to explore this topic more widely, plus those touched on in the other Episodes, may like to search the excellent free Open University short courses, https://www.open.edu/openlearn/nature- environment/environmental-studies/introduction- sustainable-energy/content-section-0?active- tab=description-tab

The other alternative must surely be to turn attention to the Par River below. This does not have the same ’head’ of kinaesthetic energy as the leat, from gravity, but does have a far greater flow. Any installation in the water would have to meet strict fish protection measures. If using run-of-river turbines connected to one bank, presumably a channel could be made along the opposite bank for fish. Could it be feasible to connect small turbines in series down the length of the river, accumulating power? A suitable model turbine might be the PicoPica 500 example left, made in Japan, designed for small scale low head environ- ments, generating up to 500W. Further information may be found by entering PicoPica into www.unido.or.jp/en/technology (UNIDO stands for United Nations Industrial Development Organisation). This should be included in a feasibility study. A larger wheel for low head situations, tested in prototype by Abertay University, is the Carruthers water wheel, as explained in their Youtube film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95dZJTvjYYE

Whether via wheel or a turbines, ideally, power generated would join an over-head cable system throughout the valley, leading either to the grid, or going to battery storage at the Trevanney Dry, Ponts Mill, so as to charge electric bicycles. To conclude, over the past decade there has been a lot of talk about the possibility of once again generating hydro power in the valley. As with all our ideas, it has to be a successful balanced recipe, limiting damage to the environment and fish whilst generating £s. Personally, the author feels that the wheel pit in its current state is magical and best left that way. She hopes the river solution will prove workable.

6 GREEN FUTURE ACTIONS 3 What would Treffry do for the PAR area, if he were alive to- day? Let’s think about his creation, Par Harbour. Back in 2008 the facilities were described as ‘near redundant and ripe to be replaced with a marina development’.

Now, in 2021, the buildings continue in use, but development is ‘still in the pipe-line’. So we have time to consider carefully such issues as demolition, waste management, design and purpose, sustainable energy and more. The replacement build should be ground breaking! There will be many tons of asbestos to remove, plus a fair amount of concrete. And the same can be said of numerous other smaller china clay facilities across mid Cornwall. Isn’t it time to find a way of re-purposing these? There is scope for invention and leadership here. An Experiment Remove asbestos sheets using robots, convey to a disused clay-pit, which has been pumped as dry as possible. Lay the sheets in the base and pour over a totally new material. It needs to fuse clay waste & building rubble with the hardest, safest mix of resin, glass, polymers … whatever can seal the asbestos safely & permanently, like fruit in a jelly!

Wind pods in a stack See over the page

The aim would be to create a number of giant tanks/reservoirs for storing hydro power, to supplement the national grid at times of peak demand. Making linings for reservoirs involves special expertise. Our feasibility study would need to analyse the systems of companies that do this already, including WALO and Tiltex.

Aerial photo left, taken from www.futureterrains.org, where it is used to illustrate their study of china clay lands restoration. REFER to 2021 opportunity to tender …

7 GREEN FUTURE ACTIONS 3 Hydro energy is created and stored by ‘dropping’ water down a steep slope, catching in a tank and returning it to the higher ground. Amazingly, two famous Welsh schemes made in disused slate quarries of Snowdonia were first thought of in the 1960s. Ffestiniog opened in 1963 and Dinorwig (known as Electric Mountain) in 1984.

Both pump the water back up the mountain, using night-time electricity. But we should aspire to maximise use of solar, wind and other green energy sources. Visit www.electricmountain.co.uk for more information. On the last page we left the harbour buildings denuded! We should think more about other possibilities, before razing them to the ground.

Perhaps some of the structures will be robust enough to use as a shell, encasing the walls within insulated concrete forms (ICF or Nudura, as shown right, at The Meadow Barns Centre). With such thick walls and few if any windows, the building could be similar to an ‘Earthship’, providing light through tubes in the roof and a giant glass house/conservatory type exterior. This brings us to another set of aspirations, this time for a better type of roofing system. In Par, which is home to a number of caravan and mobile home sites, it is not uncommon to see a huge mobile home being transported by road. So, if that is possible, why not an entire pre-fabricated roof that can be dropped on and made weather-proof in a day or 2? The best way to make it would be in metal, with thick insulation below. Here is another Meadow Barns example, called a meta-slate system. But superimposed is an image of one of the extras we should try to incorporate. It is an alternative type of wind turbine, which might be easier to build into a roof. The windpods are an Australian design, used on the Shanghai Tower/skyscraper. www.windpods.com .. Not a pretty sight, in that location, but impressive. Finally, the roof should include either integral solar PV, solar thermal panels or - if Elon Musk is to be believed and might even co-operate in a trial—it could be painted with the new type of PV paint he is aspiring to use on cars. He wants to make them self-charging throughout daylight hours, rather than plugging in. There’s a thought. Let’s invite Elon Musk to Par!! 8 GREEN FUTURE ACTIONS 4 What would Treffry do with his old MINES and SHAFTS? In Episode 2 Bob Devereux’s words summed up the sad, derelict state of many mine buildings - Empty husks of mills and mines, the kernel of their purpose gone, live on as haunts of bat and owl

However, on your walk from , you may have seen in the distance, Henrietta’s Engine house, which has been converted to a private dwelling, with rather stunning results. Two of Treffry’s mine houses (Austen’s and New Fowey Consols) are now within the UNESCO World Heritage Site for mining, the other under consideration (Par Consols) is not officially protected.

It appears that, using new design techniques, the mine shafts below ground could be re-purposed for energy generation and storage. The principle behind this is very similar to Electric Mountain, in Episode 2. In this case it’s not water going down hill, but heavy weights falling down the mine shaft. Kinaesthetic energy is generated in an instant, thus giving the same kind of boost to the grid at peak times. Recovery of the weights to surface, would be powered by off peak and/or renewable electricity. The concept has been quite far advanced, by one company, https://gravitricity.com. Theirs is one possible model of operation in the later testing stages in Edinburgh, however, we are likely to require something more modest in scale and also, if the mine buildings are to be involved, then that will set up a major conflict between preservation of historic assets and their re-use, for sustainable energy purposes.

A statement from Cornwall’s Heritage Services manager says ‘that any conversion of engine houses is complex as they are all part of the World HS’s Outstanding Universal Value, regardless of current condition and they don’t convert easily, whether to residential or (other) types of re-use’. She and her colleague from the WH team go on to elaborate the relevant clauses in Cornwall Council’s recently updated Management Plan and (for Par Consols) Historic Environment Records. Clearly, as with , the challenge is to balance these very different and conflicting philosophies.

9 Clean, modern, efficient (gravitricity building and shaft in Port of Leith) versus historic, ancient and beautiful (New Fowey Consols mine house).

The shaft itself, once excavated of detritus, would receive a circular metal cage or tube as ‘housing’ for a specially designed set of circular weights. Apparently the system would be much more efficient if the shaft is used as a pressure vessel, to create compressed air energy storage. But with multiple tunnels going off in lateral directions it does seem questionable whether this model could be viable in Cornish shafts? Costs of installation of the tube would be very high. If the challenges of the tube could be solved, then energy generated by solar panels and small wind turbines on the building in the daytime could be used to draw the weights up from the bottom of the shaft. During the night or at breakfast time, the energy would be released either in a very swift power boost to the grid, or more steadily bringing power directly to homes or businesses in the neighbourhood. Off at a tangent, but still a linked and perhaps more viable possibility, might be creating giant capacitors known in the business as supercapacitors, that use carbon in various forms, of which the newest is graphene. Also involved is - believe it or not - copper!

Copper oxide/cuprous oxide/hierarchical porous biomass-derived carbon hybrid composites for high- performance supercapacitor electrode from an article in Science Direct April 2019

10 GREEN FUTURE ACTIONS 5 Perhaps unexpectedly, a great deal of our focus so far has been on how to store power, firstly with water like the Electric Mountain, secondly in the gravitricity model. Now, more predictably, we come to batteries and lithium - a metal that was known in Victorian times, as a treat- ment for such complaints as gout, epilepsy and cancer. Controversially it was prescribed for mental illness, as a mood stabiliser and sedative, in the mid C20th. Now in the forefront of developments for Electric Vehicle battery systems, it is once again controversial due to reports of spontaneous combustion.

GREEN FUTURE ACTION from QUARRYING What would Treffry do with rocks and quarries if he were alive today? Surely he would be disappointed that the granite quarries have closed, but equally could be excited by the companies actively pursuing lithium mining. Being based in Roche (PL26), British Lithium is the closest to Fowey Consols area. The company has completed two drilling programmes and made a significant discovery of hard rock lithium carbonate. They commenced pilot grinding and screening of an 11- tonne bulk sample of this lithium-mica granite in December 2020 and - based on those results - they look forward to scaling up operations in 2021. A second company, Cornish Lithium, is run from the university campus at Penryn and has two strands of investigation. The first is in a clay pit near St. Austell and the product extracted will be lithium hydroxide. The other involves extraction of lithium hydroxide from hot brine 5km deep below the surface at United Downs, St Day. The image below is taken from an online article about the great British mining revival of our time, on www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk. It also shows a number of other exploratory drilling projects, encompassing tin, copper and tungsten. Yet again, there is potential to assist the sustainable energy sector in this, because tungsten is the strongest of any metal and when mixed with others (tin, copper or silver) makes top quality turbine blades.

11 More about the United Downs site This area has four previously productive tin and copper mines close by. Recent drillings have given encouraging results and - with permission to build a processing plant already obtained - this area looks set to be mining again soon. And Cornish Lithium’s new links with Geothermal Engineering Ltd. enhance prospects for both companies.

Geothermal AKA Hot Rocks Projects The United Downs Deep Geothermal Power Project or UDDGP for short, is at a similar level of evolution to the partner Lithium project. After initial injection of public and private funds (£18m) the projects recently received a further £4m in UK government fund- ing. Both hope to become fully operational in 2021. The principle behind geothermal is that cold water is injected down a narrow borehole, drilled to approximately 5km depth. The natural heat of the rocks will allow the water to return to the surface up a second bore hole, at a temperature of 180 C. This hot water then drives a turbine to create electricity and may also be used for heating. Although United Downs is likely to be the first geothermal power plant in the UK, there is another large Hot Rocks project evolving. Back in mid Cornwall, at The Eden Project, 2 bore holes will produce the hot water needed to heat the biomes, offices and nursery greenhouses. A later stage will expand operations to generate electricity that feeds into the grid. Drilling to the depth needed might cause ‘induced seismic activity’, but even if it does this is unlikely to match naturally occurring earthquake events - such as one measured 2.2 in 2019. At The Meadow Barns you will see a solar powered installation of equipment, which provides continuous monitoring of seismic activity from Eden activities.

12 GREEN FUTURE ACTIONS 6 Here we are, almost at the end of the campaign ideas. Through the previous Episodes we have already looked at most of the legacy possibilities of Treffry. But there is one more question that we might ask him. How would he enable Cornish Railway branch lines to leave behind diesel fuel and operate sustainably?

In 2020 a small train of a few coaches achieved the speed of 50mph on a test run, powered by hydrogen. The experiment was deemed so successful that announcements have now been made by the Scottish government, that they will showcase a working hydrogen system in time for the November 21 COP26 meeting. https://www.theengineer.co.uk/scottish- hydrogen-train-debut-glasgow-cop26/ There is great potential for hydrogen, not only for railways but also the maritime sector, aviation and perhaps in place of natural gas for home heating. But there are questions to resolve. Hydrogen manufacture currently involves methane with highly toxic carbon monoxide residue, which defeats the object. We will have to use other approaches, of which electrolysis is a clean one but requires more consistent and reliable electric than can be got from solar or wind. Or there is a third option being tested - a thermochemical reaction of water with sulphur and iodine, once again with some ’complications’. As it happens one of the most fascinating reports on this topic could be especially helpful to Cornwall. It describes the exceptional green energy achievements on the island of Orkney and proposes that other islands could find themselves equally well set-up to copy their model. Well Cornwall is almost an island, isn’t it? One of our first feasibility studies should surely be to compare what Orkney is doing with Cornwall and see how much we can emulate within a few years. Honestly, in one hit such a study + action could go a long way to helping achieve the Cornwall 2030 Carbon Neutral target.

Wave & tidal systems form part of the mix on Orkney https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190327-the-tiny-islands-leading-the-way-in- hydrogen-power

13 MORE SOURCES Since the start of 2021 the list of online, TV and radio documentaries filled with Green Future proposals has mushroomed. For Cornwall there is a dedicated website https://www.cornwallclimate.org/films with an excellent, user-friendly list of practical things that local readers/residents can do.

WIDER PERSPECTIVES Here are a few other sources, national and international Review of the best documentary films can be found at https://www.taylorhopkinson.com/renewable-energy-videos/ And another https://topdocumentaryfilms.com/breakthrough-renewable-energy/

From the BBC Two that we recommend are on Radio 4 a) 39 Ways to Save the Planet https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000qwt3 b) A series of features on the Cornwall Airport with proposals for electrically powered short-haul flights https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000v897

CONCLUSION We have already seen how the county of Cornwall has some of the very best opportunities for Green Future actions. Every possibility needs to be explored … even power from flying a kite could be viable, (check it out, it is called a kite mill!) But if the ordinary member of the public has no clue about what could be achieved or ways that they can contribute, how can anything significant ever be achieved? So PLEASE use this booklet and tell people about the Meadow Barns Centre to help spread the word. Then, ask yourself what are you interested to pursue? It could be small practical steps, such as tree planting & growing vegetables. But we also need groups who will take on an ambassador-type role. The big industry giants will not listen to a lone voice. Can you make a small group (a Treffry Trio, as described on the back page) and spear-head some regular lobbying (politely) online? There should be no limit to our ideas, so let’s put our heads together (metaphorically- speaking) and make a start.

14 PARTNERS that we hope to bring on board

Under 5 age groups = local Pre-Schools and Child Care centres Already with us: - Tywardreath Pre-School; Par Moor Nursery

Infant and Junior Schools at Biscovey; Fowey; Lanlivery; Luxulyan; Tywardreath Secondary Schools and Colleges at Bodmin (College and Callywith); Fowey; Penrice; St Austell (Cornwall College)

Major hotels/hostelries and businesses of the above post code areas These will stock the Treffry book and Green Action pages Already with us: - The Britannia Inn; Toynes House Caravan Site; Trenython Manor To join please use the box below. Sign up as a Trio of Treffry or simply email. Thank you!

*************************************************************************************************************** WE HAVE MADE A TEAM and we support the Green Campaigns at The Meadow Barns Our members are from different decades of AGE e.g. 0—10, 60—70 etc.

FIRST PERSON DECADE of AGE + email & phone SECOND PERSON DECADE of AGE

THIRD PERSON DECADE of AGE

Are you an individual or a business? Can you add more people to your group? Which action(s) do you hope to pursue and why? Have you more ideas to submit?

Tear off & mail to CJS, c/o The Meadow Barns, PL24 2SA, including your contact information.

OR photograph and send by email to [email protected] Thank you.

THE WAY AHEAD There is a saying, that 'great oaks from little acorns grow'. If we want to make progress on Green Actions, the simple way to begin is with a series of small groups, each taking on a particular challenge. Can you think of 2 other people, preferably from different age groups, to work with? Please complete and return the form, below and inside this page.

Tear off & mail to CJS, c/o The Meadow Barns, PL24 2SA OR photograph and send by email to [email protected] Thank you.

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