Construction Work Begins at SSE's Glendoe Hydro-Electric Scheme

The Prime Minister, Tony Blair and Scotland's First Minister, Jack McConnell, today visited Loch Ness to mark the start of construction work at Scottish and Southern Energy's (SSE) £140m Glendoe hydro-electric scheme near Fort Augustus. With an installed capacity of around 100MW (megawatts), Glendoe will be Scotland's first conventional large-scale hydro-electric power station for 50 years.

The Prime Minister pressed the button which led to a controlled explosion on the hillside adjacent to the loch. The explosion was the first step in the development of the tunnels which will allow water from a new reservoir, which will be built over 600m above Loch Ness, to reach an underground power station near the south east corner of the loch before being discharged into the loch itself.

The new power station will be able to generate enough green electricity to power almost 250,000 homes when operating at full capacity. Up to 400 jobs will be created during the construction phase and the power station is expected to be generating electricity commercially from the winter of 2008/09.

Later, the Prime Minister and the First Minister visited SSE's Foyers Power Station, on the south shore of Loch Ness, following a £7m refurbishment of the station's control systems.

They also presented pupils of Kilchuimen Primary School, Fort Augustus, with a rooftop wind turbine designed, developed and manufactured by the Edinburgh-based Swift Turbines, and pupils of Foyers Primary School with a fund from SSE for environmental improvements to their school.

The Prime Minister and the First Minister also met representatives of Scotland's energy sector to discuss the key issues facing renewable and low carbon energy in Scotland and the opportunities which the current review of energy policy in the UK provides to ensure that the industry in Scotland can fulfil its potential.

Ian Marchant, Chief Executive of SSE, said: "Glendoe complements SSE's investment in refurbishing our existing hydro stations, in onshore wind energy and in biomass. It also complements our other interests in offshore wind, marine energy, micro generation and carbon capture and demonstrates that Scotland is at the leading edge of renewable energy developments in the UK."

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Posted 27/02/06

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