Renewable hydro power scheme planned on the Caledonian Canal
ANEW hydro scheme is being planned at Coire Glas in the Great Glen, west of Loch Lochy between Fort William and Inverness.
Pumped storage schemes store huge amounts of renewable power and generate electricity using two bodies of water at different heights. When there is low demand or surplus electricity, water will be pumped from the lower loch to the upper reservoir, storing energy. The energy is released by using the water to generate electricity when demand requires it.
The proposed Coire Glas pumped hydro storage scheme will use Loch Lochy, which forms part of the Caledonian Canal, as the lower reservoir and a new reservoir will be built within the corrie (the hollow) of Coire Glas.
Loch Lochy and Coire Glas are ideal locations for the scheme with more than 500m in height between the sites but over a relatively short distance.
A power station will be built within the hill itself.
The proposed scheme from SSE Renewables will be the first largescale pumped storage scheme to be developed in the UK for more than 30 years, will more than double the country’s existing electricity storage capacity and contribute to the UK’s net zero carbon emissions target. SSE Renewables already develops and operates renewable energy in the UK and Ireland.
This will bea major civil engineering construction project over 5-6 years. A proposal may see the heavy plant needed for exploratory works moved along the Caledonian Canal, from Corpach at the south-eastern end of the Caledonian Canal, to Loch Lochy.
A final decision on the scheme is expected in December 2023, once exploratory works have been completed. Read more about the project at Coireglas.com