One of Scotland’s well-known country estates has built its fifth hydroelectric scheme to help fund land management work and support the continued employment of its 20-strong team.
Located on the Morvern peninsula in the village of Lochaline, Ardtornish is a multi-enterprise business with interests in farming, tourism, events management and the traditional country sports of deer stalking and fishing.
Significant investment, supported by the Clydesdale Bank over the last 10 years, has delivered an enterprise with an enviable electrical energy output and strong ecological credentials.
Recent installation of a £2.3m scheme, constituting the Socaich extension to the Estate’s Rannoch Schemes, has brought into use a 275kW impulse turbine and generator. This latest scheme is one of very few in Scotland which takes water from a burn whilst also using a 3km leat to gather and transport water to its turbine house.
The water is then introduced back into the river course for further use by two other generators. The Rannoch dam arrangement allows the schemes to maximise output from this architecture and ensures that water is properly and safely conducted to the sea.
There are also four other hydro plants at Ardtornish that include an Archimedes screw. Two stored water plants and a run of river scheme at Uilean. The final output of all of the schemes is around 3MW. Additionally, there are two biomass plants, which allow for economic heating of the main house and other outbuildings at Ardtornish.
Tony McInnes, chief executive at Ardtornish, commented: “Ardtornish enjoys a location which provides exceptional opportunity for the development of hydropower generation, where rainfall and water collection opportunities are abundant.”
16 Apr 2018
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