Scotland's first community hydro scheme on Forestry Commission land is to secure an investment package of £1.9m, Scottish Enterprise has revealed.

The funding will allow the construction of the low carbon project, situated in the heart of Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, to go ahead.

It is said the Callander Community Hydro Ltd (CCHL) is to secure finance from Triodos Bank, Scottish Enterprise's investment arm, the Scottish Investment Bank and Social Investment Scotland to develop a hydro plant generating renewable energy which will then be sold into the national grid and help generate income for the local community.

The scheme will be sympathetically constructed on land managed by Forestry Commission Scotland, located north west of Callander, Perthshire. The system will divert water from a river, down a hidden pipeline into a turbine to produce power before being returned to the stream down river. The project aims to generate around 1,300,000 kW hours of energy per year, and when operational, is expected to be able to deliver up to £2.85m over a 20-year timeframe.

-- Advertisement --

Announcing the funding package, Energy Minister Fergus Ewing, said: "Our ambition is for all communities across Scotland to share in the rich economic and social rewards of our country's outstanding renewable resources.

"I am delighted to announce today a loan of £311,000 to Callander Community Hydro Ltd from REIF. The community had also previously benefited from a CARES pre-planning loan of £141,000.

"This is an important milestone for the community and takes it a step closer to owning and operating a hydro project, in a National Park, that will deliver community benefits of up to £2.85 million over a 20 year period.

The money from the project will be reinvested back into the community helping it to become stronger and more sustainable."

Frank Park, Chair of CCHL added: "This funding allows the construction of the project and is the final stage in this ambitious community project but only the start of the dream for Callander.

"Key priorities for the community are identified in the Callander Community Action Plan which and the end objective of this project is to plough profits back into these community projects.

"We come a step closer to that becoming a reality today. We have grateful for the previous financial support through CARES funding and LEADER to get to this point and to the support from a large number of organisations and people who helped us along the way."

(JP)