Hydro Ness

River Ness Hydro Vision

River Ness Hydro will be of significant interest to some of the 6 million visitors to Highland each year; Inverness itself is the 4th most visited city in the UK with over 280,000 visitors annually. The scheme has a unique structure and there are planned video/game content on display screens that will be free and fully accessible to the public

The Council has partnered with the Science Skills Academy (SSA); a project that delivers educational, inspirational, and hands-on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) activities to school pupils from across the Highlands of Scotland. The River Ness Hydro offers a unique and accessible opportunity for young people to visit and better understand key STEM skills and learning in practice. It is also recognised that the interpretative elements of the Hydro can be further strengthened through collaborative working with SSA now and in the future.

The recent declaration of a Climate and Ecological Emergency, both nationally and regionally, has given the Council ambitious target of net zero emissions by 2025. The high-profile nature of the Hydro will help champion ambitious, green, self-supply energy opportunities and help to support and encourage positive change. The scheme is expected to generate approximately 550,000 kWh of renewable electricity annually and reduce carbon emissions by over 140,000 kg per annum. This is also strengthened using natural resources in the form of a historically and ecologically important River.

Through the partnership with High Life Highland, the River Ness Hydro will complement the Castle development by closely aligning with existing initiatives and proposals to ensure a cohesive approach in strengthening the links from the city to other localised visitor attractions including; Botanic Gardens, Inverness Castle, Leisure Centre.