70 Years Of Clean, Renewable Power From Invergarry Power Station
The title of this post, is the same as this news item from SSE.
These four paragraphs introduce the article.
SSE is celebrating 70 years of operation at Invergarry Power Station, a key part of the Great Glen Hydro Scheme and one of the many remarkable projects delivered during the pioneering years of hydro-electric development in the Scottish Highlands.
Officially opened on 5 October 1956, Invergarry was developed during a transformative period when the Highlands became one of the largest construction sites in Europe. Alongside dozens of other hydro projects built by the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board, the station helped harness Scotland’s natural resources to deliver clean, reliable electricity while bringing jobs, investment and new opportunities to communities across the region.
Part of the wider Great Glen Hydro Scheme, Invergarry was built as part of a network of hydro-electric stations connected by the Highland Grid transmission system, enabling renewable electricity generated in some of Scotland’s most remote landscapes to be transported to homes, businesses and communities across the north of Scotland.
The development of Scotland’s hydro-electric network remains one of the country’s most significant engineering achievements. Across the wider hydro programme, 54 power stations and 78 dams were constructed, creating an enduring legacy that continues to support Scotland’s energy system today.
Note.
- The article is well worth a read.
- The Great Glen has its own web site.
- I was around in the mid-1950s, when Invergarry and other schemes were built. They got a lot of positive publicity in places like the Meccano Magazine.
- A lot of the publicity on energy projects today is negative.
Today, we should celebrate the seventieth birthday of Invergarry hydro-electric station.
Save Loch Ness Campaigners Fear Highland Council Hydro Decision Will Pave Way For Further Approvals
The title of this post, is the same as this article from the Press & Journal.
This is the sub-heading.
Campaigners have hit out after councillors decided to raise no objection to plans, but only by the narrowest of margins
These three paragraphs add some more detail.
A community group has been left “disappointed” after Highland councillors decided to raise no objection to a proposed new hydro scheme at Loch Ness.
The Save Loch Ness group has been campaigning against what it brands the “industrialisation” of the loch, including the proposal for the Glen Earrach Pumped Storage Hydro (PSH) scheme.
Yesterday, as a consultee on the project which will ultimately be decided by Scottish ministers, Highland Council’s south planning committee decided to raise no objection to the plans – but only on the casting vote of chairman Paul Oldham.
I can sympathise with the community group, but I believe that the Glen Earrach scheme can be incorporated sympathetically into Loch Ness.
- The Glen Earrach scheme will be a 2 GW/34 GWh pumped storage hydro scheme, which could be the largest in the UK. So it is important.
- The Glen Earrach scheme will contribute to a Community Wealth Fund, which is expected to deliver over £20 million a year over the operational lifetime of the project.
- The economics are favourable because the large height difference between the upper reservoir, at nearly 500 m above sea level, and Loch Ness
- It could create up to a thousand construction jobs.
- There appear to be no current plans for a visitor centre.
- Once operational, the majority of the project’s infrastructure will be located underground.
- The project is expected to be complete in 2031.
- It is likely to last 125 years. I don’t think this is surprising, given that Invergarry hydro power station has just celebrated seventy years of operation, which I wrote about in 70 Years Of Clean, Renewable Power From Invergarry Power Station.
- There were objections to the Coire Glas pumped storage hydro scheme, at the other end of the Great Glen.
- The cost of the scheme appears to be around £3 billion.
Whether this scheme is approved will be a close run thing.
But it will be needed to help back-up all of Scotland’s offshore wind power, which currently stands at 5.7 GW and could reach 40 GW by 2040, according to Gooogle AI and Wikipedia.
