Scottish communities could lose out on millions of pounds worth of revenue from small hydro schemes if new rules from SEPA prevent their construction, according to Scotland’s community energy development charity.

Community Energy Scotland has strong concerns that the proposals to assess potential small ‘run-of-river’ hydro schemes by SEPA are likely to limit hydro developments to certain areas and types of river, and will mean that many schemes are refused planning permission.

The SEPA consultation process has now closed, and feedback from hydro developers and community groups attending two recent conferences on hydro and small-scale renewables has indicated that many in the sector are unhappy with the planned rules.

The Government’s new Feed-in Tariff scheme, which pays hydro scheme owners for each unit of electricity they produce, has led to a surge of interest from communities looking to reduce their carbon footprint and generate a sustainable income, but the SEPA rules would block many of these from being built.

This is especially devastating for communities who have already spent significant time and money developing projects which now might not be permitted. Community Energy Scotland says several of the groups they are working with could be in this position if the rules are applied.

Jamie Adam works for CES and is assisting three community groups with plans for hydro schemes; “The Scottish Ministers have rightly said they want to maximise renewable generation in Scotland whilst minimising the impact on Scotland’s freshwater environment. We are concerned that this aim will not be met by the SEPA proposals, some of which are contradictory by introducing unrealistically high generation targets, whilst minimising the amount of water they allow hydro schemes to use. We would like to see SEPA take account of the massive social and economic benefits which these schemes can generate for communities, as well as the carbon savings.”

Recent studies for the Scottish Government showed that the untapped hydro resource in Scotland has the potential to generate 1204 megawatts of renewable generation in Scotland, and between 360 to 1400 jobs by 2020.

Community Energy Scotland is Scotland’s national community energy development charity. It helps community and voluntary groups to fit green energy into their community buildings and to investigate renewable energy development using local resources. Its main office is in Dingwall but it has 11 community-based offices.

Community Energy Scotland is the only Scottish Charity which offers all of the following:

·         Development advice and guidance on community energy

·         Funding for start-up, technical assistance and capital installations

·         Pre-development funding for community led and owned income generating projects

·         Annual community energy conference

·         Nationwide community energy network / forum

For more information on this press release, please contact Jamie Adam, CES Central Scotland Development Officer on 01738 620879.