Aberdeen Community Energy is to start construction in May of Donside hydro, Scotland’s first urban hydro energy scheme.
The Donside Hydro Scheme will be built on the site of the former Donside Papermill, now Donside Village in the Tillydrone area of the city.
It will draw water from the River Don to generate electricity that will be sold to the national grid.
ACE is a community benefit society set up by members of the Donside Community Association.
It will be launching a community share offer this month, offering an ethical, low-risk investment opportunity to local people and the country as a whole.
Investors can expect around a 5% return on their investment, ACE said.
A launch event will take place at an Aberdeen city centre location in the weeks after the share offer is live.
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.
It is expected to generate around £30,000 each year for these community initiatives.
ACE founding director Sinclair Laing 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.”
Image: impression of the Donside hydro scheme (Aberdeen Community Energy)
