IN A new move to tackle climate change and air pollution, Ardtornish Estate in Morvern has introduced an electric vehicle charging point – powered from its own hydro turbine.
Seen here in use for the first time, by Ardtornish Estate Company chairman Dennis Overton and his BMW I3 electric car, the charger is able to top up an average vehicle at 22KW per hour.
It draws power from the neighbouring Archimedes screw turbine – another first for Lochaber – a low-head, high-volume hydro scheme that produces 100 kilowatts of power from 4.4 metres of water pressure (‘head’, in the technical term), which powers a 10-metre corkscrew over 2.5 metres wide, set at a 26-degree angle to the horizontal.