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Loch na Cathrach Pumped Storage Hydro Scheme

Statkraft acquired the consented Loch na Cathrach (formerly known as Red John) Pumped Storage Hydro Scheme from Intelligent Land Investments Group (ILI) in December 2023. 

The acquisition demonstrates Statkraft’s latest commitment to helping Scotland meet its renewable energy targets and strengthening the UK's energy security.  

This website will provide updates on our work towards bringing the project into construction.

About the project

Loch na Cathrach Pumped Storage is a 450MW hydro scheme, first conceived in 2015 and granted consent by Scottish Government ministers in June 2021 (REF: ECU00000728). 
 
Located on a site around 14km south-west of Inverness, this development will harness the waters of Loch Ness, helping the deployment of more renewable power and reducing our carbon emissions. It will capture excess energy, and store it until needed, helping provide security of supply as Great Britain’s electricity network shifts away from fossil fuels.

This significant UK renewable energy infrastructure project will support hundreds of jobs during construction and provide locally-based permanent jobs once operational. 

location map

 

What the project will look like and how it operates

Articles

What is pumped storage?

What is pumped storage? Pumped storage is a way of storing energy by turning electrical energy into stored (or potential) energy and back again to electrical energy. The system uses electricity to...

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Local Suppliers

Our aim is to have the least impact and provide the most benefit to the communities in which we operate. The construction phase is one way we can create economic benefits through inward investment, a...

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Construction timeline

  • Pre-construction (2 years)

    Includes site surveys and testing, completing all conditions associated with the consent and preparing the tender documents.

  • Construction (4 years)

    Construction is estimated to take four years, and planning conditions are used to manage elements of construction such as hours of construction, delivery times and construction traffic routes.

  • Operation

    The infrastructure is managed from an on-site maintenance team, and operations are controlled by detailed planning conditions.

The project team

Alison Hood
Alison will drive our community engagement and help maximise benefits to the community and region.
Iain Robertson
Iain heads our Scottish activities and is Interim Project Director, responsible for all aspects of this project.
Scott Vallance
Scott is an experienced planner and will focus on the extensive planning conditions on this project.
Seumas Skinner
Seumas has recently returned to the Highlands and will work with our local partners to facilitate our community engagement.

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