A community association aims to raise £1million to fund the development of Scotland’s first urban hydro energy scheme at a former paper mill.
Aberdeen Community Energy (Ace), a community benefit society set up by members of the Donside Community Association (DCA), will be launching a community share offer over the next few weeks to back the Donside Hydro scheme.
The group plans to build on the site of the former Donside Papermill in Tillydrone which it expects will produce enough electricity to power around 130 homes annually.
The proposed hydro scheme will draw water from the River Don to create renewable electricity that will be sold to the national grid. Surplus profits from the initiative will be channelled into a community fund that will be used to achieve social and environmental benefits for local, deprived communities, the organisers said.
Sinclair Laing, founding director at Ace said: “We are very excited to have reached such an important milestone in the project. We at Ace together with our partners at the DCA have been working towards launching the scheme for the past three years and we’re finally in a position where we can share the project with the world, and open it up to investment.
“The Donside Hydro will help Scotland on its journey towards 100% renewable electricity by 2020, and it will also create a sustainable community that truly works for its inhabitants and riverside setting. We’re already working closely with members of the Donside and Tillydrone areas to identify priorities for the community fund, with our immediate focus being on improving the riverside for public use.
“We’re also looking at the longer term outcomes, and have set up a social enterprise called Sinergy that will route surplus income into projects that will deliver sustainable benefits for the wider area.”
With construction planned for late May 2016, Ace said potential investors in the scheme could expect an “ethical, low-risk investment opportunity” delivering around a 5% return on their investment.
Ace, which has so far raised around £150,000 from loans, grants and investment from Ace directors, is also seeking conversations with businesses or individuals who may be interested in supporting the initiative financially in the short term, as either a lender or investor.
The community share offer will be available for investment from April 2016. A launch event will take place at an Aberdeen city centre location in the weeks after the share offer is live.
