Check out the more than 2000 year old idea that will help power Inverness Leisure well into the future as Highland Council's Archimedes Screw Hydro Ness scheme nears completion
A 2256-YEAR-OLD idea will help power Inverness Leisure well into the future as Highland Council breathes a big sigh of relief as the Archimedes Screw Hydro Ness scheme has been checked and works perfectly.
The Courier was given exclusive access behind the scenes to see how the brand new scheme works and take a look at the details of its structure up close as the long-awaited project nears completion. The turbines have been tried and tested for several weeks to make sure that it will be operational by the time the project goes live – which is on schedule for the autumn.
The public will be able to get close to the structure – which is designed to resemble a salmon right down to its scales that can only be seen close up embossed on the more than 386 panels.
But despite the eye-catching design – which has largely been welcomed by locals, particularly when it is lit up at night – the salmon theme really only conceals the meat in the sandwich.
Underneath the shell there are two turbines that can produce 46KW of electricity each and are expected to be on most of the time while the icing on the cake is that it will benefit from a feed-in tariff from the UK government of £46,000.
The final elements will be the curation of a science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) exhibition for school kids visiting the structure to promote an interest in those subjects.
Highland Council’s executive chief officer for infrastructure, environment and economy Malcolm Macleod said: “I am absolutely thrilled that the turbines have been fully commissioned.
“This is a huge milestone for the project and a crucial one – the energy generated will help reduce our energy spend by supplying a great community asset in Inverness Leisure.
“Every unit we generate will benefit from a government contribution through the feed-in tariff. In the coming weeks, the scheme will be fully operational as we continue with site works focused on ensuring a high quality visitor experience and STEM learning hub.”
