A PLAN to build Scotland's biggest hydro electric scheme in the hills above the Great Glen has been dismissed as a white elephant.
SSE Renewables has applied to the Scottish Government for consent to construct a pumped storage hydro electric scheme of up to 600MW capacity in the hills to the north west of Loch Lochy.
The scheme would be the largest hydro project to be built in Scotland and the first new pumped storage scheme to be developed in Great Britain since work began on the Dinorwig scheme in Wales in 1974.
With a cost currently estimated at £800 million it would also be one of the largest construction projects in Scotland and could create 150 jobs.
But if the project receives consent, a final investment decision is unlikely before 2014 at the earliest, and would depend on whether the regulatory framework was favourable, including a change in transmission charging.
Dave Morris, director of Ramblers Scotland, said: "This is a white elephant project. There is little chance that the public funds will be found to build such a massive dam in an important wild land area."
He said the future for wind farm development was offshore, especially off the east coast of England.
"A Loch Lochy Hydro scheme would be in the wrong place, too far away from the offshore wind farms and as public subsidies for such development are slashed, there would be no use for the Loch Lochy scheme," he said.
"I am surprised that SSE did not wait until April 1 to make this announcement."
The scheme would require the construction of a new dam and upper reservoir at Loch a' Choire Ghlais (the upper reservoir), which at over 300ft would be one of the largest dams in the UK.
A powerhouse complex would be constructed underground, together with a series of tunnels to provide access and convey water between Loch Lochy, the lower reservoir, and the upper reservoir.
It would work in the same way as the pioneering scheme at Ben Cruachan above Loch Awe in Argyll.
During periods of low demand for power, electricity would be used to pump water from the lower loch to the upper reservoir.
This water would then be released to create energy at a time when demand was high.
An administration building and jetty, tunnel portals and a tailrace structure would be built on the shores of Loch Lochy.
SSE claims that once the scheme was completed, it would have minimal visual impact in the Great Glen area.
Jim Smith, Managing Director of SSE Renewables, said: "Hydro electric schemes, which use impounded water to generate electricity, are an excellent means of energy storage. "
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