Loch Awe

                                The Loch Awe Hydro Facility

Plans have been announced for the building of a new hydro electric facility at Balliemeanoch on Loch Awe in Argyll and Bute. The scheme is being proposed by the Norwegian company Statkraft with a construction budget of between £1.5 to £2.0 billion. The new hydro facility is panned to have a large 1.5GW(Gigawatt)  pumped storage hydro (PSH) capacity and to make an estimated £2 billion contribution to the Scottish economy. It is also claimed that the project will provide a major boost to renewable energy industry with it having the potential ability to power 4.5 million homes.  The Loch Awe project should also reduce carbon emissions by an estimated 200 million tonnes and will involve the creation of a new upper reservoir above Loch Awe with a capacity of 58 million cubic metres of water. The Balliemeanoch PSH is planned to be up and running by 2031.