HIE comment on Kishorn contract

5th December 2012

Comment from Highlands and Islands Enterprise following today's announcement that Essex based firm Trident Energy is to lease a site at Kishorn Port for sea trials of its prototype electricity generator.

Alex Paterson, Chief Executive of Highlands and Islands Enterprise, said: “HIE has been pleased to work with the team at Kishorn Port Ltd as it has established and grown its plans for the site, and we are delighted they have secured this investment for the area. Kishorn Port has been identified as one of the key sites for offshore renewables in Scotland’s National Renewables Infrastructure Plan. This leasing agreement with Trident Energy is a real vote of confidence in the Port’s capabilities, the local skills and workforce and its prime location as a base for servicing the renewables market.”

In November 2012
Trident Energy has been building a model in Lowestoft, Suffolk, and will test its effectiveness in the spring. If successful, it said the wave generator pods could be added to the base of wind turbines. Steve Packard, Trident CEO, said: "A great advantage of wave power is that waves are a lot less fickle than wind." The company's first prototype sank three years ago before it could be tested at sea.
The electricity is produced by a generator which sits in a pod floating on the water. Mr Packard, whose company has received a £180,000 grant from the Low Carbon Innovation Fund, said the generators could be used at wind farms including the East Anglia Array - scheduled to be built off the east coast of England from 2015. "With 1,200 turbines, we can produce another gigawatt of energy from that same wind farm, which is enough to power one million homes," he claimed.

About The Area - From Wikipedia
Loch Kishorn is a northern branch of Loch Carron about 1.5 km wide and 4 km long, and with a maximum depth of about 60 m. It is fed by the River Kishorn which flows from the north and enters through an estuary about 2½ km long and almost 1 km wide. To the north and west of the loch is the Applecross peninsula; to the east is a headland that separates it from upper Loch Carron. The mouth of the loch is marked by the Garra Islands, the largest of which is Kishorn Island.

There are three small settlements strung along the eastern end of the loch. It is common to refer to the three collectively as Kishorn.

Sanachan lies a little inland at the head of the loch. It contains a small shop/post office and a Scottish Episcopal chapel. The A896 road passes through Sanachan, and a minor road leads off to the other settlements. Ardarroch lies on the lochside, next to small shingly beach. The final settlement, Achintraid, lies further down the loch. It consists of a line of whitewashed cottages, originally built to house crofters evicted in the Highland Clearances. Achintraid is noted for spectacular views of the Applecross peninsula, with the Corbetts of Sgurr a' Chaorachain and Beinn Bhàn and the pass of the Bealach na Ba being particularly prominent.

East of Kishorn are two small Marilyns: An Sgurr and Bad a' Chreamha.

The Kishorn Yard was a fabrication yard for oil platforms at Loch Kishorn. The yard was owned by Howard Doris and was operating from 1975 to 1987. In 1975 work began on the construction yard and dock for the production of oil platforms on the north side of the loch. This lay at the end of a two mile stretch of road built to provide access in just 12 days, and by 1977 over 3,000 people were working here, housed in temporary accommodation on site and in two retired liners moored in the loch: the Rangatira and the Odysseus. The largest project involved the excavation of a huge dry dock, in which was constructed the 600,000 tonne Ninian Central Platform in 1978. Material was supplied by sea and when complete the platform needed seven tugs to tow it to its operating position in the North Sea. The Ninian Central Platform still holds the record as the largest movable object ever created by man. Loch Kishorn is very deep, technically being a fjord, and the yard was therefore well suited to build the concrete Ninian Central Platform, which to this day, is still the World's largest man-made moveable object at 600,000 tons

By 1980 the construction yard was diversifying in an effort to escape a downturn in oil exploration and production, but its days were numbered. Two thousand people were still employed in 1984, but bankruptcy in 1986 was followed by closure in 1987 and clearance of most of the buildings on the site.

In 1992 the dry dock was put to use in the construction of the 2,300T bridge footings for the Skye Bridge, connecting Kyle of Lochalsh with the Isle of Skye.

The 120m quay is presently used by Ferguson Transport as a port for fish farming supplies, forestry products, round wood, road salt and fertilizer.

In 2006, Leiths(Scotland)Ltd commenced quarrying operations on the site, supplying concrete for precast blocks for the Raasay Ferry Terminal. Leiths and Ferguson Transport have created a new joint venture company, Kishorn Port Limited to promote the regeneration of the Yard and the dry dock as a manufacturing centre for the offshore renewables industry.

The lasting impact is the Howard Doris Trust. Amongst other things, it has provided a lot of funding for the Howard Doris Centre in nearby Lochcarron, which provides care for the elderly.