£1.7M Kingussie hydro plans spring forth

Hydro electric plans costing £1.7 million which are expected to bring major benefits to Kingussie will be the subject of a public meeting at the town’s Talla nan Ros.

The Pitmain Estate, by Kingussie, is proposing to develop two small hydropower schemes as well as reconstructing the Gynack Dam including a flood alleviation scheme.

The project has now progressed with the help of Oban-based consulting engineer Adrian Laycock to the stage of submission for planning consent and Scottish Environment Protection Agency CAR licence application.

The four separate components of development works are:

• Allt Mhor high head hydropower scheme;

• Gynack Dam reconstruction;

• Loch Gynack medium head hydropower scheme

• Allt Mhor Flood Diversion Scheme

The Allt Mhor Hydropower Scheme would generate up to 675 kW and 2.4 GWh/year of energy.

Its development cost is estimated at £1.7million and construction is currently planned for 2013.

Gynack Dam retains a large reservoir (Loch Gynack) and under the Reservoirs Act its owners have a statutory obligation to maintain the dam in a safe condition.

A project spokesman said that it requires major reconstruction.

He added: "There are also considerable environmental benefits, in maintaining loch water levels which at present are depressed due to leakage through the dam.

"Loch Gynack Hydropower Scheme will replace an earlier scheme which has been defunct for many years.

"In conjunction with other components of the project it could generate 50 – 75 kW and up to 0.3 GWh per year.

"The Allt Mhor Flood Diversion Scheme would follow the principles of an earlier scheme, now derelict, which diverted water from the Allt Mhor into Loch Gynack through a sluiced inlet and an open channel.

"The remains of the head works and the old channel are still in evidence, although it can be inferred from their modest dimensions that the function of the old scheme was solely to divert water into Loch Gynack to augment power generation, and not to alleviate downstream flooding in Kingussie.

"After routing this flood through Loch Gynack, the peak flow of a presently damaging flood could be reduced by about 20 percent to one that would be contained within the river channel without overtopping the banks in Kingussie."

Kingussie Community Council has welcomed the plans because of the benefits they say it will bring to the town if approved.

The meeting takes place at 6pm.

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