Generating for generations as hydro dream comes on stream
Project is the longest hydro scheme in Scotland
A farmer has realised his dream of harnessing the abundant water supply from the hills above Lamlash to power homes on Arran.
Glenkiln Hydro, which has taken nearly two years to build, takes its power from the Benlister Burn and its tributaries to generate enough electricity to power up to 500 homes.
The man behind the project Kenneth Bone gave the Banner a tour of the completed project ahead of its official opening today (Friday) and admitted he was ‘proud’ of his achievement but also that he was ‘relieved’ it was finally built and generating power.
A 4.2km support road had to be carved through the hills to build and service the pipeline, making it the longest hydro scheme in Scotland.
The size of the three intakes which collect the water from the burn and three of its 13 tributaries may surprise some, but this was preferred by the authorities over a single dam. ‘It is not the volume of water, but the pressure that is important,’ said Kenneth.
The water is fed into the powerhouse, after falling from 1,000ft, and is converted into electricity which is fed into the national grid. Its 500kw output will supply up to 15 per cent of Arran’s electricity.
Kenneth said: ‘There is a myth that when the power goes into the national grid it can go anywhere, but the truth is it will go to the nearest houses to the supply.’
The hardware of the hydro scheme should last 100 years and Kenneth said he considered he was: ‘Generating for the generations to come. There is a lot of uncertainty in agriculture and in the world and I feel this is an insurance policy to safeguard the future of the farm.’
Not that he has seen any income so far. He had to come up with the funds for the project, which is a joint venture with MEG Renewables, and will not get the first feed in tariffs until February next year. It will then take seven or eight years before the scheme starts to make a profit.
Kenneth only just made the cut off date for the higher feed in tariffs before they were cut in September 2014. He says the present rates make hydro schemes unviable.
He said: ‘Arran could return to being a self sufficient island for power, which it was until the 1960s, with more hydro schemes but at present there is not the political will to allow this to happen.’
Kenneth admitted: ‘There were a lot of sleepless nights at the start because of the weather. Work started in January 2015, which was the wettest month on record for Arran, and the persistent rain continued into Febru-
ary so the scheme was slow to progress.’ However, over the course of the project, despite some dismal days, there was steady progress leading to the scheme being finished and commissioned in July.
He added: ‘I am relieved it is finished and up and running as we were up against quite a tight timescale. We had two years to build it which sounds a long time, but we were unable to work for six months of the year during the summer because of the hen harrier breeding season, meaning the scheme was effectively built over two winters with the extra weather difficulties that brings.’
Kenneth said he believed if they had been allowed to work between April and August they would have completed the project quicker and with less costs, without disturbing the hen harriers.
They were allowed on site last July after he paid for an expert to rule there were no breeding hen harriers. But Kenneth says this has been the case since he began keeping records in 1999.
He said the development, far from harming bird life in the Arran Moors Special Protection Area and the two sites of special scientific interest, in which the scheme lies, had actually encouraged it.
‘We now have a sparrow hawk nesting up there and the disturbance of the ground has brought smaller birds looking for insects and worms as well as the predators who prey on them.’
Mr Bone was delighted to have been able to use local contractor Murchie Sand and Gravel for both the road and civil work contracts and the construction saw around a dozen men on site seven days a week to complete the work under the watchful eye of project managers Green Cat.
He admits the project had its challenges, not least the enormous amounts of stone needed for the base of the road.
But natural whinstone dug from quarries along the route saved time and the expense of bringing the material to the site. And a 1,200 metre section is built as a floating road across the peat and heather.
The road, and the area surrounding the pipeline, are already showing signs of returning to nature with grass and shrubs starting to grow, which is the plan going forward.
But the road will be used regularly for maintenance work.
An added benefit for the farm is there is now easier access on to the hills where the sheep graze. They could previously only be reached by off-road quadbikes or on foot.
For Kenneth it is the end of a 17-year dream but only the start of a new renewable energy resource for the island.