This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Renewables at 'heart' of energy future
24/02/2006
Work began today on Scotland's largest hydro electric project for 50 years at Glendoe, near Fort Augustus on Loch Ness.
First Minister Jack McConnell, visiting today accompanied by Prime Minister Tony Blair, said the scale of the £140 million, 100MW project highlighted Scotland's vast renewable energy potential .
Glendoe is being developed by Scottish and Southern Energy and will supply energy to 250,000 homes when operating at full capacity.
The First Minister said:
"I want to congratulate everyone at Scottish and Southern Energy for their work on the Glendoe scheme so far. Massive projects of this kind demonstrate Scotland's vast renewable energy resources.
"Scotland has the wind, the waves, and the tides to be among the world leaders in generating clean electricity.
"Scotland's government is determined to put renewables right at the heart of our energy future.
"Backing renewable energy is right for Scotland. It's right because the industry has significant potential to create jobs and attract investment. And it's right because we owe future generations of Scots facing the threat of global warming nothing less."
Glendoe will be Scotland's second largest conventional hydro-electric station and the first large-scale station to be built since 1957, when the Errochty station in Perthshire was opened.
Scottish Ministers gave their consent in July 2005 for the development of the scheme under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989.
The power station will produce around 180 million units of green electricity in a year of average rainfall and will be very flexible and able to meet major fluctuations in demand for power. When synchronised, it will be able to start generating electricity at full cpacity in 30 seconds.
The scheme involves collecting water from around 75 square kilometres - either directly or via 8km of under ground tunnels - in a new reservoir over 600 metres above Loch Ness. The drop from the reservoir to the turbine at the side of the loch - the 'head' - is, at over 600 metres, the biggest of any hydro station in the UK. The efficiency of a hydro station increases with the size of the head, making Glendoe the most efficient scheme in the country.
Although some tunnelling will be done via the 'drill and blast' method, much will be done by specialist tunnel boring machines.
The new reservoir will be situated at the head of Glen Tarff and will be impounded by a dam approximately 1km long, making it the longest dam in SSE's portfolio. The dam will be shaped to suit the topography and geology of the area and will be 35m at its highest point.
The Executive has set targets of 18 per cent of electricity generated in Scotland to be from renewables by 2010, rising to 40 per cent by 2020.