Ayr’s riverside has been taken over by a major hydro-electric project.
Work to fit a huge turbine is well underway at the Nethermills Weir near to Dam Park.
The Archimedes screw turbine will measure four meters in diameter and 10 in length and could generate 82 kilowatts of green energy.
Work is expected to be completed by autumn, and it is hoped carbon-free power will be generated from the beginning of December.
Last week, cranes and a cement mixer piled into the site next to Ayrshire College.
Contractors have encased the section of the water with dam-like fencing as they work with calm conditions to lay the foundations for the mega-screw.
The scheme is the fulfilment of a long-held ambition of the non-profit Auchincruive-based Energy Agency.
It is expected the innovative project will be fully installed and commissioned in the autumn.
Specialist turbine equipment will be shipped over from Belgium in October, if all goes to plan.
Bosses of the project are keen to see the work completed before the change in summer conditions could turn the tide on their ambitious plans.
It is expected the free electricity generated will be put towards for local projects.
Energy Agency director Liz Marquis told Ayrshire Live: “Once operational the designers, TLS Renewable Consulting, predict it will generate up to 83 kilowatts of clean, green electricity, varying with the river water level, producing an annual total of around 320,000 units (or kilowatt hours) in a year of typical Ayrshire weather.
"All going well, our contractors will have the screw turning and generating carbon-free electricity by the beginning of December, and the income from it will be used for local projects making homes more energy-efficient and sustainable for many years to come.
“The project has been years in the planning years and has involved a long list of organisations and suppliers, many local, from archaeologists and ecologists to quarries and plant hirers.”
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