MP sees hydro scheme in action
How dream scheme has become a reality
Stirling MP Stephen Kerr was treated to a tour of the Callander Community Hydro Scheme by two of the group of volunteers who took the ambitious plan from drawing board to reality.
Callander Community Development Trust, through their subsidiary Callander Community Hydro Ltd, have developed a 425kW hydro-electric scheme on the Stank Burn, a tributary of the River Teith catchment, situated in the Breadalbane area of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park.
The hydro project developed from informal discussions with trust about the cost of electricity for local businesses, and how - as Callander is never short of water - to take advantage of this.
Commissioned in October 2014 and now generating to the national grid, Callander Community Hydro is one of Scotland’s first community owned hydro renewable energy projects, and the first owned by a community on Forestry Commission land.
The project will enable the trust to be independently funded and sustainable. It is expected to deliver up to £2.85m over a 20year timeframe. This funding will support a range of community projects in the visitor destination town.
Among projects the scheme has already helped to fund are the local Christmas lights, Callander Summerfest and a benefits advice service.
Stephen visited the scheme to see the intake, walk the route of the pipeline and visit the turbine house. He is a member of the Business Energy and Industrial Strategy in the House of Commons and is keen to see as many community and commercial energy projects in the Stirling area as possible.
The MP said: “Taking an abundant natural resource, creating green power and generating money for the benefit of the town was a great idea but no one should underestimate the effort and determination it took to turn it into reality. It is a wonderful success story that I hope has inspired other communities to take the initiative into their own hands. This is exactly the type of project I want everyone in the UK to hear about.”
It is a wonderful success story that I hope has inspired other communities to take the initiative