The proposed scheme is at Glendoe in the western end of the Monadhliath mountains, to the east of Fort Augustus. The power station itself, which is likely to be built under ground, will be located close to the south east corner of Loch Ness. Its installed capacity is planned to be between 50 and 100MW (megawatts), making it possibly the third and at least the sixth largest of SSE’s 54 hydro-electric stations.

SSE say their scheme would involve collecting water from around 75 square kilometres - either directly or via 17 km of underground aqueducts – in a new reservoir over 600 metres above Loch Ness. The drop from the reservoir to the turbine at the side of the loch is, at over 600 metres, the biggest of any hydro station in the UK and would make Glendoe the most efficient hydro scheme in the country.

The proposed new reservoir would be situated at the head of Glen Tarff and would be impounded by a dam that would be 35m at its highest point and approximately 1,000 metres long, which would make it the longest dam in SSE's portfolio. Scottish & Southern claim the dam would be shaped to suit the topography and geology of the area.

As part of the pre-planning process, the scheme has been subject to a detailed environmental assessment, and the scope was developed in consultation with Scottish Natural Heritage and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

The MCofS will of course be looking closely at this large scale proposal for a mountain area and will comment upon the developer's proposals. It is, however, interesting to compare the scale of the proposed power output from this scheme, (50 - 100MW) to the Sheildaig proposal which we have consistently opposed since it was first proposed in 1996. That represents a real threat to one of the most precious wild land areas in Europe, and for a paltry output of only 3.55MW.

Scottish and Southern Energy website