Dam boosters
Highland pumped hydro scheme would be UK’s biggest for four decades
A HUGE hydro scheme in the Highlands has received a major boost after a £100million investment by renewables firm SSE.
The Perth-based energy giant is planning a 300ft-high dam and two reservoirs at Coire Glas.
It would be one of the biggest ever engineering projects in the Highlands and could create up to 500 construction jobs.
Experts say it could be crucial in the climate fight by doubling the UK’s capacity to store energy for long periods, cutting our dependence on imported gas.
But business chiefs warned the Coire Glas scheme requires “certainty” from Westminster on whether they plan to back the project financially or provide other incentives.
Scottish ministers approved the 1.5GW pumped storage facility three years ago – but SSE wants assurances from the UK Government before fully signing off on the £1.5billion plan.
Finlay McCutcheon, SSE’s director of onshore renewables, said the project “could play a huge role in enabling a decarbonised energy system”.
But he added: “SSE needs clarity around how the UK Government is going to support projects like Coire Glas.
“It was a key element of their energy security strategy last year, but we need to see how that’s going to work in practice.”
The firm – along with Drax Group, which operates the massive “hollow mountain” hydro scheme at Ben Cruachan in Argyll – also wants details from Tory ministers on how pumped storage can generate revenue from supporting the National Grid.
The technology would work by using two reservoirs at different heights in the Great Glen – the 62-mile geological fault that runs between Inverness and Fort William.
During periods of low electricity demand, water would be pumped from the lower reservoir to the upper one for storage, which has the capacity of 11,000 Olympic swimming pools.
Then, when demand is high and power supplies tight, the water would be released, driving four turbines below on the banks of Loch Lochy to generate power.
The principle would be to store electricity on windy or sunny days when it’s not needed and deploy it on cold, dark and still days.
It’s hoped the scheme could power three million homes. The £100million cash boost to progress the plans will see tunnelling work into hillside at Coire Glas to assess the geological conditions. FTSE 100 firm SSE said it hopes to make a final decision next year. If it goes ahead, completion is expected in 2031. The scheme would be the UK’s biggest hydroelectric project since the “Electric Mountain” was built in Snowdonia, Wales, in 1984. The UK’s Department for Net Zero and Energy Security said it was “committed to supporting the low carbon hydro sector, including hydro storage” and said the technology would be “critical” to hit green goals. It comes after UN scientists warned this week the world is on the cusp of climate disaster without drastic cuts to emissions and fossil fuel use. UN chief Antonio Guterres said the West needed an entirely low-carbon and renewables energy system by 2035 to help save the planet.
It could play a huge role in decarbonised energy FINLAY MCCUTCHEON SSE DIRECTOR OF RENEWABLES