Coming together for the local community – Arrochar Hydro Official Opening Ceremony – Friday 18th May 2018

Opened by Sir Malcolm Colquhoun, Chairman of Luss Estates Company and attended by Paul Wheelhouse MSP, Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy

Friday the 18th May saw the Official Opening Ceremony of Arrochar Community Hydro. The scheme was opened by Sir Malcolm Colquhoun of Luss, Chairman of Luss Estates Company. Arrochar Community Hydro Society was also delighted to welcome Paul Wheelhouse MSP, Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy.

Members of the local community came together with the wider renewable energy community and joined a piper and local school children, from Arrochar Primary School, to walk up to the power house.

Guests were able to see the hydro scheme officially turned on and then see inside the powerhouse. Highland Eco Design, the project contractors, were on hand to discuss the mechanics of the power house and explain the projected income which will be generated to the benefit of the two local development trusts: Luss & Arden Development Trust and Arrochar & Tarbet Development Trust.

The Arrochar Community Hydro scheme was initially proposed by Luss Estates Company as a means to enable the local communities to generate income to reinvest in their communities.

To view images from the day click here

Sir Malcolm Rory Colquhoun, Chairman of Luss Estates Company

 Paul Wheelhouse MSP, Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy

12 noon, Friday 18th May 2018

We are delighted to welcome Sir Malcolm Colquhoun, Chairman of Luss Estates Company and Paul Wheelhouse MSP, Scottish Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy to Arrochar to officially open our community hydro scheme.

11.00 am Meeting at Three Villages Hall, Arrochar – Leaving for a guided walk up to the Turbine House. This will take approximately 30 minutes and is a steep uphill walk, sensible outdoor clothing, shoes or walking boots required.

12 noon Official opening by Sir Malcolm and the Energy Minister, Paul Wheelhouse MSP at the the Turbine House.
Alternatively, for those who do not want to walk up to the turbine house it is hoped to provide a live screening within the Three Villages Hall in Arrochar.

1.00pm Everyone welcomed back to the Three Villages Hall for a Soup & Sandwich buffet

2.00pm Guests and Visitors will circulate Representative groups : Arrochar School Children, Hydro Contractors, Local & National Voluntary Organisations, Authorities and Councillors, Community Groups from Arrochar & Luss, Emergency Services, Support Bodies and others

4.00pm Break up & Dispersal

7.00pm Gala Race Night – Three Villages Hall – reconvene to raise money to support local Youth Group to carry out voluntary work in Africa this summer in the Government’s Year of Young People.

Late Bar & Ceilidh for Race winners and those still standing.

As you’ll appreciate we need to organise catering etc., please RSVP as soon as possible, if you plan to attend, by email: info@arrocharhydro.coop or call 01229 821028 ( This is Energy4All admin office of Arrochar Community Hydro)

Our Scheme passed an important landmark with Electrical Engineers from SSE and contractors completing all the regulatory tests and protection measures for the generating equipment and the network on Friday, with a G59 certificate signed off by both parties.

The scheme was powered down to allow final commissioning, concreting the pipeline Thrust block and other finishing work within the Turbine House.

With the certification we can process info with Ofgem to export power to the National Grid at the pre-accredited FiT secured 3 years ago.

All looking good with the system and main contractor, Highland Eco, now concentrating on completing finishing details in preparation for future handover to the community.

 

Groups from Arrochar Primary School stopped off during annual PTA forest track walk to be introduced to the Arrochar Community Hydro site access at Tarbet.

Jamie Wallace of Highland Eco Design, the principal design contractor, took a few moments out from managing project construction, as he demonstrated the operation of a model turbine and electricity generator.

Duncan MacLachlan a local founding director of the Arrochar Community Hydro Society set up by Arrochar & Tarbet and Luss & Arden Community Development Trusts to manage and operate the hydro scheme, for the benefit of their communities, provided further explanation of how the energy generated would be sold to the SSE National power distribution grid and following operation costs, will see profits coming into the communities to help run their facilities and fund local projects.

With the scheme initially proposed by landowner, Luss Estates and designed to operate for 20 to 40 years, and possibly much longer, it was hoped the schoolchildren would see the benefits from the project build and possibly be involved in deciding how the income would be used, even playing a part in it’s future governance and operation, working alongside Luss Estates providing the land for a peppercorn rent.

With Hydro power already a major feature in the area, the scale of the project was described as a mini-scheme, that was nonetheless important, as Scotland and the world strives to reduce carbon emissions and find a solution to reducing reliance on dwindling reserves of fossil fuels.

Scottish Renewable Energy sourced from Wind, Solar and Hydro was increasing to compensate for Power Stations that previously generated Electricity from Coal, Gas and even Nuclear Power, being shut down.

Keen to put their energy to work the children continued on their 3, 6 and 9 mile routes with an invite to see the new scheme when finished in March 2018 and possibly help to open the water pipe valve that would start the turbine, to begin electricity generation for a relatively small but long term community benefit.