BUCKFASTLEIGH could soon have a hydro-electric scheme on its doorstep.

Yorkshire-based Kilbury Weir Ltd, which owns the decaying salmon leap and Dart river banks just outside the town, has applied to the Environment Agency to install an Archimedes screw turbine and a fish pass.

The company plans to install the turbine on the left-hand bank and to replace the defunct salmon leap with a Larinier-type fish pass. There are also plans to repair the weir crest.

Mike Dunning, of the Environment Agency, said that to get a licence, the scheme will be examined to make sure it will not harm the environment or increase the risk of flooding.

He said the Archimedes screw is the most fish-friendly turbine and can cope with debris without getting blocked. He confirmed that the river would still be passable by canoeists.

The number of hydropower applications has leapt since the government changed the rules on buying power from renewable schemes. Owners are now guaranteed a price, which has encouraged many to make the sizeable investment needed.

Since 2008, applications have increased six-fold. Last year the Environment Agency granted licences for 65 schemes, of which 16 were in the south west.

Applicants need to obtain a licence to abstract and impound water, even though it only travels down a tube measured in feet. They also need permission to construct a fish pass.

The River Dart Country Park near Ashburton is now self-sufficient in electricity for nine months of the year, since it installed an Archimedes Screw design in 2007. According to the EA the scheme has generated 985,000 KWh of electricity worth more than £95,000 and saved 650 tonnes of carbon.

In Totnes, Yorkshire based Mannpower is planning to build a hydro scheme in the centuries old town weir. The owner has claimed that the four metre diameter Archimedes screw could produce 200 kilowatt output, making it the biggest in Europe so far.

The Dart is an important river for migratory salmon and sea trout. Numbers have been falling in recent years and efforts have been made to boost populations by releasing fry and improving spawning conditions on the upper reaches of the river.

Nationally, the Angling Trust has reacted angrily to what it regards as inflated claims as to the amount of electricity such schemes can produce, while possibly damaging fish stocks. According to its website, The Dart Angling Association is still taking advice on the Totnes scheme, which it thinks may actually improve fish passage.

The deadline for comments on Kilbury Weir is March 11. Representations should be made in writing, quoting the name of the applicant and Reference Number NPS/WR/005649 to: Water Resources Permitting Support Centre, Environment Agency, Quadrant 2, 99 Parkway Avenue, Sheffield, S9 4WF.

A copy of the application, map, plans and so on may be inspected at the Environment Agency, Exminster House, Miller Way, Exminster, EX6 8AS