Nominee Summary
Alba Energy is the representative organisation for independent hydro-electric producers in Scotland. Founded in 1998 to support the development of so-called "Small Hydro" (100kW - 5MW) schemes in the Scottish uplands, the number of sites has increased from 36 to more than 400, with an overall capacity of 222 MW (of which Alba represents 180MW). 85% of all hydropower in the UK is generated in Scotland: engineered, built and financed by Scots. It represents rural enterprise at its most innovative: the longest lasting, most efficient, least intermittent, least obtrusive and most ecologically beneficial renewable energy source of them all.
Reduction of carbon footprint
Once construction is complete, a hydro scheme has an average 80-100 year lifespan, requiring replacement only of machine parts. Alba members provide various examples of both run-of-river and storage schemes. One example of a 500kW storage hydro scheme, capable of producing the electricity required by 800 average households, makes the landholding in which it is built carbon negative in the long-term. Predominantly constructed in upland and wetland areas, such schemes complement wider peatland and nature recovery projects better than any other renewable energy source. Buckny Hydro in Perthshire, operated by Riemore Estate in partnership with CRF Hydro, is currently underway with a £2 million storage development that will hold back 315,000 cubic metres of water in a depleted wetland. As a condition of the development the surrounding peatland is being restored. This will form part of a wetland-moorland-woodland plan that would not have been possible without the hydro development. The new storage capacity will also act as flood mitigation for the village of Butterstone below, able to hold back water in a naturally-formed glacial reservoir at the onset of a red precipitation warning. The combination of clean, long-duration electricity generation with biodiversity uplift and carbon capture renders Small Hydro – proportionately – the most successful, all-round, local, carbon-footprint reducing technology. Although developed and built locally, producing just a modest share of the national energy mix, hydro schemes at this scale nevertheless represent an estimated offset in Scotland of between 1.5-2 million tonnes of carbon every decade.
Overcoming challenges
In order to deliver the environmental and economic benefits of hydropower, it is essential to fight the corner of a small industry. Alba Energy connects members with each other to share information, experience and advice to cover operational issues: from grid connections to energy markets to spare parts. But the key challenges have been those of public policy. Alba has provided the advice and inspiration to transform the development of run-of-river schemes into storage schemes – as described in the case of Buckny Hydro – or has pioneered local energy security and pricing, in the case of Inver's hydro-solar colocation scheme in Jura. Three policy battles Alba has fought have been with SEPA, SSE and the Scottish Assessor. SEPA's attempt to impose unjustified charges on hydro schemes was significantly ameliorated by dogged engagement with the agency; SSE's habit of imposing arbitrary outages was rationalised through engagement with Scottish Government and SSE; but most significant of all has been Alba's 13-year legal challenge to the Scottish Assessor's imposition of extraordinary increases to Rateable Values for hydro schemes in the 2010, 2017, 2023 and 2026 valuations. This required no fewer than three committee hearings (all successful) and two verdicts at the Lands Valuation Court, culminating in a final hearing last year at the Upper Tribunal before Lord Young. Now the biggest case in ratings history, a successful verdict could save the sector more than £100 million of punitive and unjustified taxation over the course of a decade.
