Home / Environment / Loch Quoich Hydro Scheme Faces Objection
Loch Quoich Hydro Scheme Faces Objection
26 Mar
Summary
- Highland Council may object to Loch Quoich hydro project.
- Concerns raised over landscape, wildlife, and roads.
- Project could power over half of Scotland's homes.
Highland Council is poised to raise an objection to a significant pumped storage hydro project planned for Loch Quoich, a reservoir operational since 1955. Council officers have expressed concerns regarding the development's potential adverse effects on the surrounding mountain landscape, its wildlife, and local rural road networks, particularly from construction traffic.
The proposed project by Fearna PSH Ltd aims to repurpose the existing 1950s hydro scheme. The developer asserts that this "nationally significant" initiative would be capable of storing "vast amounts" of intermittent wind energy, enough to power more than half of Scotland's homes. However, similar concerns have been echoed by local community councils, Mountaineering Scotland, and RSPB Scotland.
Council officials noted that current mitigation plans are insufficient to address the scheme's impacts on wildlife, special geological features, and protected areas like the Moidart, Morar and Glen Shiel Special Landscape Area. They also highlighted "significant adverse impacts" on the local road network. The Scottish government has formally requested Highland Council's stance on the proposal.
