Update:
HRH Duke of Rothesay visited the hydro site at Corriemulzie on Thursday 29th September. HRH spent some time on site meeting the project developers, contractors and engineers before officially switching on the turbine. Following the visit, HRH continued to a reception in Braemar village hall, where he met many of the local members of Braemar Community Hydro who have invested in and supported the project. Photo: Highland Eco-Design's director, Mick Bestwick meeting HRH Duke of Rothesay, courtesy of The Press and Journal.
News:
We are delighted to announce that Corriemulzie hydro scheme has now been commissioned and can now commence power generation! The G59 test which is the regulation which allows BCH to export the generated electricity to the National Grid was performed successfully by SSE on Monday 30th May. All we need now is some rain!
There will now be a 3 month optimisation period to ensure the generator, turbine and associated electrical equipment is working to maximum efficiency across a range of river levels and conditions. Following the heavy rainfall recently the generation has been at maximum power, great news as it allows the engineers to test and optimize the systems when in full flow as well as providing clean, green, renewable energy to the National Grid!
News:
Braemar Hydro Scheme is a Community Benefit Society, formed to construct a 100kW hydro scheme. Braemar Hydro will generate clean, low carbon electricity from the Corriemulzie Burn on the outskirts of Braemar. Surplus income from the enterprise will go to a community benefit fund to be used for projects and worthy causes in the local community. Over the lifetime of the project it is envisaged that the scheme will generate £500,000 for this community benefit fund. The share offer achieved its target and is expected to start generating electricity by Summer 2016.
Electricity Output
The scheme will generate enough electricity to power the average needs of 86 UK households.
System Elements
Coanda effect intake screens
1km of buried pipe
Available head 70m
Max. flow rate 210 l/s
Turgo Turbine
Status
Commissioned May 2016
