Background
One of the underlying principles behind the development of the hydro scheme was that the benefits derived from the scheme would be used to assist projects and organisations within Kingussie.
Other similar community schemes have invited investment from groups and individuals in order to meet the costs of design, landscape construction, turbine installation and electricity distribution, with the result that a significant proportion of subsequent income has gone toward debt repayment or has been returned by way of dividend to investors.
Kingussie’s scheme is special insofar as all the initial financing came from external funding applications, notably that of the People’s Postcode Lottery. A special mention must be made of the efforts of Donnie Grant, who, over the early period of the initiative, tracked down every possible avenue which had the potential to provide finance for the scheme.
It took almost eight years (2006-2014) from the initial concept to the stage where income came to be generated and, apart from ongoing maintenance costs and an amount reserved for contingencies, all income from the hydro scheme is allocated to the Hydro Fund and kept separate from the day-to-day running expenses of KCDC.
Hydro Fund Awards
The Hydro Fund has two levels of award available:
- up to £750, where decisions are taken at the monthly KCDC director’s meeting; and
- up to £3,500, where recommendations from the KCDC directors are ratified by an external and independent group.
The total number and value of awards since the beginning of the scheme is shown in the table below:
| Year | No. of awards | Total value |
| 2017 | 7 | £7,000 |
| 2018 | 7 | £8,004 |
| 2019 | 11 | £10,884 |
| 2020 | 9 | £6,929 |
| 2021 | 12 | £10,884 |
| 2022 | 8 | £9,166 |
| 2023 | 13 | £22,089 |
| 2024 | 14 | £21,435 |
Examples of awards made include:
- Caberfeidh Horizons – installation of a tracking hoist
- Kingussie Vicinity Community Council – purchase of PA system and gazebos
- Christmas Lighting Fund – repair and upgrade of our Christmas lights
- Kingussie Clubs – installation of fencing at the Market Stance
- Kingussie Tennis Club – facilities upgrade as part of the club’s Centenary celebrations
- Kingussie High School – contribution to the fund-raising initiative for the girls’ shinty trip to the USA in summer 2024
- Kingussie Parish Church – support for the Warm Spaces initiative which provides clothing and shoes for local school children whose families are experiencing financial difficulties.
A full list of awards detailing the year, recipient, amount and purpose is available at hydro-fund-awards.
For further information about the Hydro Fund please contact hydro-fund@kcdc.co.uk.
- Donnie Grant Memorial Award
To honour the legacy of the late Donnie Grant MBE who was the driving force behind Kingussie Community Development Company and the community hydro, the trustees of KCDC have launched… Read more: Donnie Grant Memorial Award - Hydro 10 year celebration!
On February 15th we celebrated the community hydro scheme that has operated on the River Gynack for the past 10 years. Almost 80 people joined us over the day for… Read more: Hydro 10 year celebration! - Kingussie Hydro Celebrates 10 years!
Drop by for an Open Day at the Hydro for a wee tour and to find out more about how Kingussie Community Development Company use the proceeds to support projects… Read more: Kingussie Hydro Celebrates 10 years! - Game, Set and Match (funding)…
Kingussie Tennis Club celebrate the generous support from KCDC for their 3rd phase development involving the installation of a sprinkler system as well as an all access gate system allowing… Read more: Game, Set and Match (funding)… - A hill party of a different kind!
The work to renew and repair the core path on Kingussie’s local hill was celebrated on 19 April 2024. Volunteers from Kingussie Community Development Company’s Paths Group were joined by… Read more: A hill party of a different kind!