As members of the Knoydart Community, you will be pleased to hear that yesterday, at 2.00 pm, I switched over to the new buried pipeline. You probably noticed a momentary outage as wewent from our polluting, temporary, diesel generator to put Inverie Bay back onto clean, green, renewable electricity again. We were delighted to see that when Inverie’s 90-kW demand was placed onto the new pipeline, there was only a minor alteration in pressure at 32bar, rather than the wild fluctuations and swings that took place on the old pieline, as it tried to cope.
With the new pipeline, the Sword of Damocles hanging over the Knoydart community has been lifted, however, there is still a way to go on the project before its completion in the Spring but this is a historic moment for the community. The new pipeline should be good for another fifty years, hopefully more. The short video clip shows the switchover – the powerhouse light going on is the powerhouse generator kicking in to supply Inverie. The photograph is of those present for the low-key switch-on – most you will recognise, but in the middle, in the day-glow jacket, is Allan Stewart from Wyvis who has been running the construction project these last months. Allan and Wyvis have been excellent – we are lucky to have them working for us.
A more formal opening of the new pipeline and attendant facilities is planned for the Spring.
Thanks are due to Jim Brown, Willie Dowlen, John Cocker and Uilleam O’Neil for keeping Inverie’s lights on while on diesel back-up for a number of weeks and as we switched from the old to the new pipeline. Uilleam was at the diesel generator end of the switchover and so here is a picture of him at the powerhouse earlier in the day helping to get the powerhouse ready. It is a pity that Kyle Smith, our Energy Security Project Manager, had to be in London yesterday, but huge thanks are due to him for bringing the project to this milestone moment.
Frank Atherley – Chair of Knoydart Renewables
