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Councillors urged to raise no objection to hydro scheme near Loch Ness

Getty Images An aerial view of Loch Ness, a large expanse of water with hilly land on the its shores. There is a small boat on the loch and it is leaving a long wake behind it.Getty Images
Glen Earrach Pumped Storage Hydro scheme would use Loch Ness as a lower reservoir

Highland Council planning officials have recommended councillors raise no objection to a hydro-electric project that would use water from Loch Ness.

Under the proposals, Glen Earrach Pumped Storage Hydro scheme would use Loch nam Breac Dearga in hills above Drumnadrochit as an upper reservoir and Loch Ness as a lower one.

Glen Earrach Energy said its 2GW project would be one of the UK's largest and most water efficient energy storage schemes.

Highland Council's south planning applications committee is due to debate the proposals next week.

The Scottish government has consulted the local authority on the plans.

Pumped storage involves two bodies of water at different heights.

The water flows from one to the other through tunnels, passing through a power station inside a cavern which has been created by hollowing out part of the mountain.

When there is low demand for electricity from consumers and/or when surplus power is available from wind farms, electricity is used to pump water from the lower level to fill a reservoir further up the hill.

The water can then be released from the upper reservoir, flowing down the tunnels to drive turbines which generate hydro-electricity.

This happens at times of high demand, or when there is not enough wind to power wind farms.

The UK has four existing pumped storage projects - Cruachan and Foyers in Scotland, and Dinorwig and Ffestiniog in Wales.

However, a large-scale pumped storage scheme has not been built in the UK for about 40 years.