Historic preservation, production of green energy and cleaning the Cuisance river
Association Bicycle Power is located at the historic mill of Arbois Moulin de Courcelles. This historic mill, which has provided water power for over a half of a millennium, gives Bi.cycle Power the opportunity to transform a historic monument into an eco friendly energy generator. This is in alignment with our values of recycling through reuse and preservation, respecting the planet and respecting the heritage. The use of small hydro power also provides a cleaning mechanism for the Cuisance river by removing debris and aerating it, providing more oxygen for the fish and other rare wildlife dependent on the river.
Preservation of the Moulin de Courcelles
Arbois Moulin de Courcelles holds historic and industrial significance for Arbois and the region, and has been used to harness the power of La Cuisance for over 600 years. The first mention of the Moulin de Courcelles was in 1362 in the Catal d’actes.
It has been a key site for producing oil, flour, hydraulic equipment (including the turbines for the regional mills), a sawmill, a papermill, viticulture equipment, dairy equipment, fireplaces, furnaces and presses.
This site was the first to produce electrical lighting in the region, and provided the lighting for the town of Arbois in the late 1800s. The turbines for other mills in the area were manufactured here. It had 4 water wheels, and 2 Francis turbines, one installed in 1889 the second in 1920.
We need automatic screen cleaners to finish the hydro power project and to clean the river.
The last major step we need in the restoration of clean hydro power to this historic site is automated screen cleaners. We now manually clean at least 2 m3 of debris from the river each week. This cleans the Cuisance river as well as is necessary to produce clean hydro power.