The Lochaber hydroelectric scheme is a

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

power generation project constructed in the

Lochaber Lochaber ( ; gd, Loch Abar) is a name applied to a part of the Scottish Highlands. Historically, it was a provincial lordship consisting of the parishes of Kilmallie and Kilmonivaig, as they were before being reduced in extent by the creation ...

area of the western

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...

after the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Like its predecessor at

Kinlochleven Kinlochleven () ( gd, Ceann Loch Lìobhann) is a village located in Lochaber, in the Scottish Highlands and lies at the eastern end of Loch Leven. To the north lie the Mamores ridge; to the south lie the mountains flanking Glen Coe. The village ...

, it was intended to provide electricity for

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...

production, this time at Fort William, a little further north. It is still in operation.

Construction

Pipelines supplying Aluminium works Fort William - geograph

The scheme was initially designed by engineer

Charles Meik Charles Scott Meik (1853 - 5 July 1923) was an English civil and mechanical engineer, and part of a minor engineering dynasty. His father Thomas Meik was also a civil engineer, as was Charles' brother Patrick Meik; collectively, they established ...

but after his death in 1923, the scheme’s realisation was left to

William Halcrow Sir William Halcrow (4 July 1883Application for election to AMICE 9 October 1908 – 31 October 1958) was one of the most notable English civil engineers of the 20th century, particularly renowned for his expertise in the design of tunnels and ...

, by then a partner in the firm founded by Meik’s father

Thomas Meik Thomas Meik ( – )Thomas Meik
''Grace's Guide''. Retrieved: 8 October 2015. was a 19th-century Scottish eng ...

The project was finally sanctioned by Parliament in 1921, but construction did not start until 1924. On 30 December 1929, the first aluminium was cast. It took about 95% of the of power generated. It eventually became part of

British Aluminium British Aluminium was an aluminium production company. It was originally formed as the British Aluminium Company Ltd on 7 May 1894 and was subsequently known as British Alcan Aluminium plc (1982-1996). History In the late 1880s and early 1890s, ...

The scheme harnessed the headwaters of the Rivers Treig and Spean and the floodwaters of the

River Spey The River Spey (Scottish Gaelic: Uisge Spè) is a river in the northeast of Scotland. At it is the eighth longest river in the United Kingdom, as well as the second longest and fastest-flowing river in Scotland. It is important for salmon fishi ...

(plus a further eleven

burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ultraviolet radiation (like sunburn). Most burns are due to heat from hot liquids (called scalding), solids, or fire. Burns occur mainl ...

s along the way). The

Laggan Dam Laggan Dam is a dam located on the River Spean south west of Loch Laggan in the Scottish Highlands. History The structure was built as part of the Lochaber hydroelectric scheme by Balfour Beatty for the British Aluminium Company and construction ...

( long and high) contained the flow of the Spean in a

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

. A

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

then linked this body of water with another reservoir (

Loch Treig Loch Treig is a 9 km freshwater loch situated in a steep-sided glen 20 km east of Fort William, Scotland, Fort William, in Lochaber, Highland (council area), Highland, Scotland. While there are no roads alongside the loch, the West Hig ...

) contained by the Treig dam. From here, the main tunnel, until 1970 the longest water-carrying tunnel in the world, at () long and in diameter, was driven around the

Ben Nevis Ben Nevis ( ; gd, Beinn Nibheis ) is the highest mountain in Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland ...

massif. From the western mountainside, down five massive steel

penstock A penstock is a sluice or gate or intake structure that controls water flow, or an enclosed pipe that delivers water to hydro turbines and sewerage systems. The term is inherited from the earlier technology of mill ponds and watermills. H ...

s, the water was channelled to the

turbine A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work produced by a turbine can be used for generating e ...

s in the power house at the

smelting Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including silver, iron, copper, and other base metals. Smelting uses heat and a ch ...

plant.

Present operation

Following the closure of Rio Tinto/Alcan's other UK smelters at

Invergordon Invergordon (; gd, Inbhir Ghòrdain or ) is a town and port in Easter Ross, in Ross and Cromarty, Highland (council area), Highland, Scotland. It lies in the parish of Rosskeen. History The town built up around the harbour which was establish ...

(1981),

(2000),

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

(2009) and

Lynemouth Lynemouth is a village in Northumberland, England, northeast of Ashington, close to the village of Ellington to the north west. It was built close to coal mines, including Lynemouth Colliery. Lynemouth and the surrounding industrial area feat ...

(2012) the hydro-electric scheme and smelter at Fort William was operated by

Rio Tinto Alcan Rio Tinto Alcan is a subsidiary of Rio Tinto, based in Montreal. It was created on 15 November 2007 as the result of the merger between Rio Tinto's Canadian subsidiary and Canadian company Alcan. It is the global leader of aluminium mining and p ...

. Under threat of closure the smelter was put up for sale in 2016. GFG Alliance, which incorporates SIMEC and the

Liberty House Group Liberty Steel Group Holdings UK Ltd (LHG), which is also referred to as Liberty House or Liberty House UK, is a British industrial and metals company founded in the United Kingdom in 1992 by industrialist Sanjeev Gupta. It is headquartered in L ...

, as the successful bidder, bought the Lochaber Smelter for £330m. It has plans to expand the factory and produce car parts. On 3 April 2021, it came to light that the Jahama Highland Estates (formerly the "

Alcan Alcan was a Canadian mining company and aluminum manufacturer. It was founded in 1902 as the Northern Aluminum Company, renamed Aluminum Company of Canada in 1925, and Alcan Aluminum in 1966. It took the name Alcan Incorporated in 2001. During t ...

Estate") had been purchased in 2016 as part of the

Rio Tinto Mines Rio Tinto Group is an Anglo-Australian multinational company that is the world's second-largest metals and mining corporation (behind BHP). The company was founded in 1873 when of a group of investors purchased a mine complex on the Rio Tinto ...

deal for the Lochaber aluminium plant, because the furnace requires so much power that the smelter is located near a hydroelectric plant, which drains the basin of the 114,000 acre Estate. Alcan designed all their smelters that way. The Estate includes the north face of

. According to reports, the Scottish Government mandated that the Estate never be split from the hydro plant and aluminium smelter, but Gupta ignored them and placed ownership of the Estate in a company that is domiciled on the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

. The 2016 deal was worth £330 million and was guaranteed by the UK

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...

. Conservative finance spokesperson

Murdo Fraser Murdo MacKenzie Fraser (born 5 September 1965) is a Scottish politician who served as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party from 2005 to 2011. He has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Mid Scotland and Fife reg ...

was critical about the alleged breach of the Scottish Government agreement and urged the Scottish Government to "take whatever steps are necessary to protect public funds".

References

* * {{coord, 56.829, N, 5.073, W, region:GB-HLD_type:landmark, display=title Hydroelectric power stations in Scotland Buildings and structures in Highland (council area) Lochaber

Construction

Present operation

See also

References