Mill owners in Somerset are expecting a fair change in the turning of their mill-wheels starting with a celebrity re-opening of a water mill by Adam Hart-Davis.

Gants Mill, an historic water mill near Bruton, Somerset has been refurbished with state of the art electric power generators and is spearheading the renaissance in hydro-electric power.

The mill, which will be reopened on Friday 23 April 2004 by ‘Victorian Ways’ broadcaster Adam Hart-Davis, will generate a peak 20kW, enough power for 15 homes even at sub-peak running. After the reopening the mill will be open to the public again and visitors will be able to see the generator as part of their tour of the mill.

Over the centuries the Gants Mill has been adapted to society's changing requirements, as a corn mill, fulling mill, silk mill, then corn mill again, and is now a fine example of a small-scale hydropower scheme, producing electricity from a renewable resource. Following the mill's successful conversion it’s expected that the initiative will go nation-wide.

Twelve water mills in South Somerset are taking part in the initial phase of the scheme as the South Somerset Hydropower Group, at an average cost of £25,000 per site. Funding for the scheme has come from the Energy Saving Trust, a government-funded body for promoting renewable sources of power, and Green Electron, a ‘green’ electricity supplier.

Mill owners had to secure abstraction licences from the Environment Agency, to permit them to use water from the river.

.Up to 15% of the 8000-plus mill sites in the UK may be suitable for such power generation. Experts believe that as much as two percent of the nation’s electricity can be produced by harnessing the power of rivers and streams.