Switch-on for hydro scheme at Lochbroom
A NEW hydro power scheme near Lochbroom started generating power after a ‘switchon’ launch event on Saturday, November 18.
BroomPower, the community renewable energy scheme for the Ullapool and Lochbroom area of the north-west Highlands, has been completed.
Operated by voluntary organisation Lochbroom Community Renewables (LCR), the 100KW run-of-river hydro was completed on schedule at the beginning of this month. It was officialy opened at a special ‘switch-on’ ceremony on Saturday November 18 alongside LCR’s AGM.
The hydro is currently in its beta testing phase which means it is already generating electricity, and therefore income, for the community and investors.
Tim Gauntlett, chairman of LCR, commented: ‘BroomPower will provide muchneeded resource and benefit for our local community for years to come. We are immensely proud of the huge team effort that has brought BroomPower into being and grateful to all those who have given so much of their personal time and effort and professional skills to make it a reality.’
Construction of BroomPower was undertaken on very challenging terrain and steep gradients by a team of highly skilled experts, chosen by LCR for their track record in building small-scale hydro schemes of this nature.
The project has had the overwhelming support of the Lochbroom community since it was first instigated in 2013 and was the subject of a huge fundraising effort in 2016 to raise the £900,000 needed to build it.
Located on the Allt a’Mhuilinn burn nine miles south of Ullapool, the flow of the hydro will receive a boost every time it rains, giving the locals a reason to celebrate rather than curse the sometimes soggy Scottish weather.
More information can be found at www.broompower. org.