FOR a thousand years the Thames at Sandford has helped power industries such as paper and corn mills.

Now a village group wants to use the power of “the Lasher” – as Sandford Weir is known locally – to light up their homes and businesses.

An ambitious renewable energy project to install three hydro-electric turbines at the site has been drawn up that could generate enough electricity to power 340 homes.

Liz Shatford, one of the residents behind the scheme, said the idea had been inspired by similar projects in Germany and closer to home in Goring, near Reading.

Mrs Shatford said: “The ethos is two things. It is for the good of the world and we are looking at it from that environmental point of view.

“It is also a community project and if we don’t do it some commercial company will.

“It is the best site on the Thames for this as it has the biggest drop.”

The idea won support at a public meeting earlier this year.

Mrs Shatford, who has lived in the village for 40 years, said the group had already app-roached technology prov-iders and landowners the Oxford Preservation Trust.

It has also applied for a licence from the Environment Agency.

Mrs Shatford said the hydro-electric project could enhance the environment and provide an educational attraction for schools.

Work is at an early stage and an estimated £1.25m would be needed from investors, she said.

Costs could be repaid within 20 years by selling power to the National Grid, she added.

The group estimates the power output from three “Archimedes screws”, as the type of turbine is known, would be 170kw, enough to generate electricity for 340 homes and provide a profit for investors.

Any surplus cash would be re-invested in the community.

Mrs Shatford said: “Sandford lock is one of the oldest on the Thames, put there in the reign of King James II.

“The weirs are a lot older than that but they would have been in various forms.

“We have been harnessing its power for 1,000 years or more.”

Preservation trust director Debbie Dance said: “We have said to them we are keen on renewable energy but we need to understand what it will look like and what the effect will be.”

The Environment Agency said it was in pre-application discussions with the group.