Construction of a new 0.9MW hydroelectric project has begun on the east shore of Loch Awe in Scotland, Gilkes Energy has announced.

Kames Hydro is the first of a number of hydro projects to be developed by Gilkes on the National Forest Estate managed by Forestry Commission Scotland. The project is a classic high-head design incorporating a single intake, high-pressure pipeline and a Gilkes Twin-Jet Pelton turbine in a purpose built powerhouse.

Planning permission for the project and the necessary SEPA CAR license were received in late 2013. After a detailed tendering and procurement exercise the project has now formally achieved ‘Financial Close’ and the civil construction team started to mobilize last week. The scheme is planned to be operational by March 2015.

Kames is the second Gilkes project to secure funding from Downing Renewables – a specialist fund manager focussed on renewable energy project development.

"After nearly four years of work we are very pleased to have achieved Financial Close on this project," said Carl Crompton of Gilkes Energy. "The project now has the certainty and confidence of both the Feed In Tariff and a fully-secured funding package so we can now concentrate on building the scheme."

The project supports a number of Scottish jobs, both highly skilled and at the ‘super-local’ level, and it contributes to the local community, Crompton added. The civil contractor on this project is local firm George McNaughton and Son. It is also being designed and project-managed from the Gilkes Energy Glasgow office, with maintenance and routine servicing to be provided by the Gilkes Service Centre in Fort William.

"We are delighted to see the start of this project and have been working with the Gilkes Energy team on this project for a number of years – it is exciting to finally see machinery arriving and ‘ground being broken’," said David Jardine, from Forestry Commission Scotland. "The Commission is very pleased with the co-operation and good relations we have had throughout with the local community, Argyll and Bute Council Planners, SEPA, SNH and SSE , and look forward to watching the project take shape. The Kames project is the first of a number of hydro projects Gilkes Energy will build on the National Forest Estate, and we hope that this one continues to progress well."

Image: Plant arriving on site. Courtesy Gilkes Energy