Client: Ben Mor Hydro Ltd
Value: £1.34M
Engineer: Locogen
Completed: 2017
Located north-west of Ullapool, this 30-week project was for a 500kW run-of-river hydro scheme, utilising water from the Allt Ach a Bhraighe watercourse. It included the construction of insitu concrete intake and 2,500m of 400ø pipe, as well as a power house built on a croft adjacent to the Achininver Burn. The turbine house was of steel-framed construction with masonry walls, faced with larch timber cladding and a slate roof; built on a reinforced concrete foundation with formed reinforced concrete pits. Permanent entrance and access tracks were built from the public road to the turbine house and a temporary construction access track formed from the main road to same, following the route of the penstock.
Key Issues:
• An existing Scottish Water intake structure was located downstream of the hydro intake therefore a temporary intake structure had to be constructed immediately upstream of the hydro intake, enabling Scottish Water to abstract water upstream of the works, ensuring no contamination to the local water supply.
• Working through exceptionally wet weather (5m of rainfall from April through to December) along with stripping and storage of peat to use again at reinstatement.
• Construction traffic used the 20 mile single-track road through the village of Achiltibuie in the height of tourist season. Communication was ongoing with local residents and the community group.
Principal Elements included:
Pipeline 2,500m (450mm ø HPPE pipe / 400mm ø ID PN30 ductile iron pipe)