Consented by Argyll & Bute Council in September 2016, RWE’s 2MW Glen Noe Hydro Scheme, located within the Glen Noe Estate, near Loch Etive in the west of Scotland, is now operational.
Construction of the powerhouse, 3km of buried pipeline and three intake weirs for the run-of-river scheme began in 2019 and, following completion of the grid connection in January, commissioning was successfully completed in mid-February 2021.
The scheme has the capacity to provide sufficient renewable electricity to power up to the equivalent of 1,436 average homes each year. In addition, RWE will provide a community fund of £3,000 for each year for the operational lifetime of the project to Taynuilt Community Council.
Mary Drury, RWE Head of UK Hydro, said: “Following a successful construction phase, we are delighted that Glen Noe is now operational. Hydro has proved its longevity in the renewables business and so the commissioning of a further hydro scheme will play a crucial role in enabling Scotland to fulfil and maintain its clean energy future ambition to reach net zero carbon by 2045.
“RWE now operates 14 hydropower schemes across Scotland, all constructed to ensure that environmental constraints are strictly adhered to. For Glen Noe, this included ensuring that nearby nesting Golden Eagles were not disturbed during construction.”
RWE is the UK’s second largest power producer, generating over 12% of all electricity in the UK. In Scotland the company operates over 480MW of installed renewable capacity across 26 hydro and onshore wind sites and Scotland’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm: Robin Rigg in the Solway Firth. RWE also operate a 55MW biomass combined heat and power district heating plant at Markinch; the Glenrothes Energy Network officially opened in April 2019 and is the first 100% renewable biomass power district heating network of its kind in Scotland.
For more information on Glen Noe visit: https://uk-ireland.rwe.com/locations/glen-noe-hydro-power-scheme