Callander Community Hydro Project
Background
Turning water into cash - sounds too good to be true - with all the rain we get, Callander certainly has an abundant supply of water as a natural resource and it seems a shame to waste it.
The Hydro project developed from informal discussions within Callander Enterprise about the cost of electricity for local businesses and about how, as Callander is never short of water, this should be seen as an advantage rather than the opposite. It could become an asset for the entire community.
The purpose of the scheme is to generate hydro
electric energy and put it into the grid, selling it to an electricity
supplier to generate income for Callander which will then be allocated
by the CCDT for the community in Callander.
It will help to fund our own developments
and reduce our
reliance on funding from public bodies.
The hydro scheme we are planning is situated in Stank Glen on Forestry Commission land - it's a run of river scheme (see diagram above) where water will be diverted from Stank Burn into an intake, flow down a buried pipeline into a turbine house, used to generate electricity and then returned to the stream much lower down. There are no dams or reservoirs in this type of scheme so it will be pretty much hidden once the land is replanted. The catchment area for the water is 4.23km2 (see map opposite) and it should generate 600Mw hrs/year and save 16,000 tons of CO2 over conventionally generated electricity.
Progress so far
As you would expect, there are many regulations about the amount of water we can take out of the stream, safeguards for local wildlife and to preserve the natural beauty of the area, so we are currently working with the National Park Planning, SEPA, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Forestry Commission to understand the studies we need as part of our planning application e.g. environmental studies and bat and otter surveys. Community Energy Scotland are providing us with great support and advice and have also given us some start up funding.
We have commissioned a grid survey so we know we can connect into the grid and we have agreement in principle from the Forestry Commission to lease the land.
We tendered for the detailed design work but no company met our criteria. However, we were approached by the Scottish division of a large international company, Veoila Water, who we are working with to see if we have a viable project and if they are a suitable outsourcing contractor to work with us. The CCDT retains 100% ownership and control and owns the trading company we have set up, called Callander Community Hydro Ltd.
Next steps for 2011
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Complete outsourcing agreement with Veolia Water- in progress.
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Carry out environmental impact study - in progress.
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Hold a community ballot - completed, see result below.
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Complete the financial model - in progress.
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Compile a construction plan
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Secure planning approval
Next steps for 2012
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Construction of the scheme
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Grid connection
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Start generating electricity
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Start giving profits to CCDT
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Funds used for community projects
Results of the ballot
The outcome of the Public Ballot is a resounding “Yes” in favour of the Hydro Project.
Ballot Papers Issued 2603
Total ballot papers returned 1458 ie 56% of papers issued
Yes Votes for Hydro project 1390 ie 96% of papers returned.
No Votes against Hydro project 64 ie 4% of papers returned
There were 4 spoiled papers.
Thanks to everyone who took the time to vote. This clearly demonstrates to UK and Scottish Governments, National Park, Stirling Council and Forestry Commission Scotland the strength of support in Callander for the Hydro Project. We can move forward with the project backed by a clear mandate from the Callander Community These results have also been published in the July/August edition of the Ben Ledi View and our prize draw for voters will be announced in the September Ben Ledi View.
If anyone has any queries or wants to volunteer to help with the Hydro Project, please contact Frank Park, Chair Callander Hydro Project at the Lade Inn 01877 330152.
Keeping you informed
We will use this site and the Ben Ledi View to keep you updated on our progress, but if you have any specific questions then please email us at the .
Last updated 22/06/2011