AS THE rain lashed down on the First Minister 2,000ft up in the hills above Loch Ness yesterday, it was a good day to discuss the power that can be harnessed from water.
Alex Salmond was taken into the Monadhliath mountains to view the vast wilderness where a £150 million hydro-electric scheme is nearing completion.
The development on the Glendoe Estate near Fort Augustus is the first of its kind in 50 years a
nd perhaps the last on a similar scale to be built in Scotland.
The 100MW scheme, being developed by Scottish & Southern Energy, involves a dam 35 metres high and 905 metres long at the head of Glen Tarff, and a power station constructed in a cavern 250 metres below ground level, inside Borlum Hill.
A five-mile drive from the project's base camp took Mr Salmond to an area of rugged mountain landscape which, at the touch of a button, he was going to start to transform. Moments after starting the process to shut the gate and plug the dam the river flow stopped. Within four to five weeks – and maybe less if yesterday's downpour continues – a two square kilometre area of land, rocks and heather will be submerged to create a giant reservoir to power the hydro scheme.
As well as the Tarff, which will contribute about 20 per cent of the reservoir's 12.7 million cubic metre capacity, water will be gathered from about 75sq km of surrounding mountains, either directly or channelled via 8km of underground tunnels. The project is due to be completed by November and begin producing electricity by Christmas.
As he arrived for the ceremony, Mr Salmond said: "As you can see, Scotland is not short of water. All that we need is a good roof."
"This is one of the projects which will ensure Scotland's long tradition of generating hydro power continues for many years to come."
The full article contains 326 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
