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76-619: Loch Gair Hydro-Electric Scheme is a small-scale hydro-electric power station, built by the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board and commissioned in 1956. It is located near Lochgair , a hamlet to the north-east of Lochgilphead , Argyll and Bute in Scotland. It was originally designed to supply power to Lochgilphead and the surrounding communities, but is now connected to the National Grid . The North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board

152-412: A fishway , fish pass , fish steps , or fish cannon , is a structure on or around artificial and natural barriers (such as dams , locks and waterfalls ) to facilitate diadromous fishes' natural migration as well as movements of potamodromous species. Most fishways enable fish to pass around the barriers by swimming and leaping up a series of relatively low steps (hence the term ladder ) into

228-603: A capacity of 7.1 GWh. There were two steam power stations in 1958. There were nine diesel fuelled power stations in 1958. The supply of electricity was through the Highland Grid operating at 132 kV. In 1958 this comprised 1,630 circuit miles with 31 substations. The total length of all mains was 17,369 circuit miles. By April 1989 there were 1,053 miles (1,694 km) of 275 kV lines; 2,115 miles (3,403 km) of 132 kV lines; and 27,550 miles (44,340 km) of lines operating at less than 132 kV. Supply to customers

304-482: A capacity of four million units (kilowatt-hours per year) to huge schemes such as that at Glen Affric, with a capacity of 440 million units. The capacity of all the schemes combined was estimated to be 6,274 million units, which was considerably more than the 4,000 million units suggested by the Cooper Committee. MacColl wanted to ensure that no scheme could later be rejected because it had not been included in

380-465: A challenge is matching swimming performance data to hydrodynamic measurements. Swim tests rarely use the same protocol and the output is either a single-point measurement or a bulk velocity. In contrast, physical and numerical modelling of fluid flow (i.e. hydrodynamics) deliver a detailed flow map, with a fine spatial and temporal resolution. Regulatory agencies face a difficult task to match hydrodynamic measurements and swimming performance data. During

456-658: A civil engineer who had been involved with hydro-electric schemes in Galloway in the 1930s; and John A. Cameron of the Scottish Land Court . Prior to the committee meeting, Cooper was sceptical of its aims, believing that most of the feasible hydro-electric schemes in Scotland had been explored by the Snell Committee, which met between 1918 and 1921. With the exception of the Glen Affric scheme and

532-412: A dam, "originally cut for the passage of fish up and down the river", is mentioned in the 1823 U.S. Circuit Court Case Tyler v. Wilkinson. This example predates the 1880 fish ladder at Pawtuxet Falls. The 1714 channel "wholly failed for this purpose" and, in 1730, a mill was built in its place. The channel and its mill usage became an important legal case in U.S. water law. A pool and weir salmon ladder

608-677: A head of 358 feet (109 m) to the turbine house, which can generate 6 MW. In 2002, the Renewables Obligation (Scotland) legislation was introduced. It was conceived as a way to promote the development of small-scale hydro-electric, wave power, tidal power, photovoltaics, wind power and biomass schemes, but by the time it came into force, the definition of small scale had been increased from 5 MW to 10 MW and then 20 MW, and existing hydro-electric stations that had been refurbished to improve efficiency could be included. Loch Gair at 6 MW thus became eligible when

684-572: A member of Parliament since the 1920s, was appointed as Regional Commissioner for Civil Defence for Scotland. In 1941, Winston Churchill , who was by then Prime Minister, having failed to convince Johnston to accept a post in London, asked him to be Secretary of State for Scotland. He agreed, providing that he could form a Council of State consisting of all five of the former Secretaries of State who were still alive. If they could agree on an issue affecting Scotland, Johnston would look to Churchill to support

760-526: A pipeline, and is joined by the tunnel from Blackmill Lock. It continues as a surface aqueduct, to empty into the northern end of Loch Glashan. Further north still, the Allt Mealach has been dammed to create Crarae Reservoir . A sluice at its northern end controls flow into a tunnel, which passes through higher ground to the west to discharge into a tributary of the Abhainn Bheag an Tunns. The dam

836-452: A pressure pipeline at the lower end. The tunnel ends on the hillside to the west of the turbine house, where there is surge shaft and valve house, and the pipeline runs on the surface, passing under the A816 road just before it reaches the power station. Loch Glashan is fed by a few small streams, and water is diverted to it from several other river systems in order to increase its catchment. To

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912-641: A wide range of organisations, including the Central Electricity Board , the Electricity Commission , fishery boards, local authorities, estate owners and even the Royal Scottish Automobile Club. The committee published their report on 15 December 1942, and it was quite remarkable, not least for its clarity and lack of ambiguity. It was systematic, analytical and realistic, causing Johnson to tell

988-745: Is a concrete structure, with a maximum height of 45 feet (13.7 m). Below the dam, the outlet continues as the Crarae Burn, which flows through Crarae Forest Garden, a spectacular woodland garden in Himalayan style built up during the 20th century by three generations of the Campbell family. The gardens cover 126 acres (51 ha) and were given to the Charitable Trust, now the National Trust for Scotland , in 1978. The catchment

1064-475: Is further extended by diverting water from the River Add . To the west of Cnoc Dubh ("Black Hill"), a dam has been constructed, with a fish ladder to allow migrating fish to access the upper reaches of the river. Maps show a pumping station, meter house and weir, and a surface aqueduct carries water along the left bank of the river for about 0.9 miles (1.4 km) before it enters a pipeline. This carries it over

1140-453: The National Trust for Scotland , to make the Board's job more difficult. The final report acknowledged the serious objections to the scheme, and examined them against the public interest. It stated that the scheme must stand or fall as a whole, and that despite some possible damage to amenities, the project should proceed. Following the decision of the tribunal, an order to confirm the scheme

1216-598: The UK electricity supply industry was nationalised in 1948, the board took over the assets of the Grampian Electricity Supply Company and other bodies producing electricity in the northern part of Scotland, these were: Campbeltown and Mid-Argyll, Crieff, Dunoon and District, Loch Leven, North of Scotland, Peterhead, Stornoway, Thurso and District, Dundee, Aberdeen, Perth, Inverness, Buckie, Lossiemouth, Branderburgh and Oban Corporations. One of

1292-428: The 1930s several schemes were proposed to develop hydro-electric power in the north of Scotland. These met with opposition by landowners, sporting interest and the coal mining industry on the grounds of competition. There was also opposition from official sources. Plans to build a power station at Kinlochleven for the benefit of the aluminium industry were shelved when Inverness County Council refused to allow water from

1368-569: The 1943 act because its scope was too limited. The deputy chairman and chief executive was Edward MacColl , an engineer with wide experience of hydro-electric projects and electrical distribution networks. His was the only full-time post. Neil Beaton had previously been a member of the Cooper Committee, Hugh Mackenzie was the Provost of Inverness, and the final member was the Central Electricity Board nominee, Walter Whigham, who

1444-483: The 1960s. By 1968 the installed capacity of all conventional hydro-electric power stations operated by North of Scotland Board was 1047.06 MW, and the total average annual output was 2911.4 GWh. See main article: Cruachan Power Station The Cruachan power station (also known as the Cruachan Dam) is a pumped-storage hydroelectric power station commissioned in 1965. It can provide 440 MW of power and has

1520-530: The Abhainn Bheag an Tunns and discharges into Loch Glashan. Finally there are three intakes on tributaries of the River Add, one on the Allt Gobhain and two more on unnamed streams to its east. These feed water into a tunnel, which emerges from the hillside as a pipeline to cross the River Add at high level and continues as a tunnel to Loch Glashan. In early 1957, Lord Lucas of Chilworth asked questions in

1596-519: The Abhainn Bheag an Tunns is at 364 feet (111 m) AOD and covers an area of 2.5 acres (1 ha). Loch Feorlin, the reservoir on the upper Abhainn Bheag an Tunns, is at 495 feet (151 m) AOD, and covers 15 acres (6 ha), with a catchment area of 1.38 square miles (3.57 km). Loch Crarae, which is on the Allt Mealach, is at 166 metres (545 ft) AOD. [REDACTED] Media related to Loch Gair hydro-electric scheme at Wikimedia Commons North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board In

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1672-808: The Amenity Committee, the Fishery Committee and the Electricity Commissioners, the Loch Sloy scheme was opposed by several county councils and some private individuals, raising the same issues that had prevented development of hydro-electric power in the Highlands for many years. An inquiry, chaired by John Cameron KC, was held in Edinburgh, which lasted for six days. The Board had done themselves no favours by moving

1748-914: The Ballisodare Fish Pass was built in County Sligo in Ireland to draw salmon into a river that had not supported a fishery. In 1880, the first fish ladder was built in Rhode Island , United States, on the Pawtuxet Falls Dam. The ladder was removed in 1924, when the City of Providence replaced the wood dam with a concrete one. USA legislated fishways in 1888. As the Industrial Age advanced, dams and other river obstructions became larger and more common, leading to

1824-569: The Board to do its job, then they should not set it up in the first place. His amendment was later withdrawn when the Lord Advocate agreed to amend the bill at its committee stage, based on the objections raised during the debate. The bill was received enthusiastically in the House of Lords, where it was presented by Lord Alness. There was widespread support for the measures, and particular praise for Tom Johnson. Lord Airlie stated that speed

1900-539: The Development Scheme. Guthrie Brown, one of the Panel of Technical Advisers, later wrote of his amazement at MacColl's detailed knowledge of so vast an area and its potential for water power. While Johnston was still fighting the political battle to save the Board from Lloyd George's reorganisations, MacColl wanted to begin building a scheme to demonstrate the effectiveness of the Board. He chose Loch Sloy as

1976-531: The Electricity Commissioners approved the scheme on 7 February 1945, but the Amenity Committee and the Fisheries Committee both wanted parts of it omitted. When it was published by the Secretary of State, there were 25 formal objections, with Perthshire County Council, riparian owners and the residents of Pitlochry leading the opposition. Johnston decided that a tribunal was necessary to consider

2052-493: The Highlands. Despite the clear vision of the original report, large numbers of checks were added to the bill, requiring parliamentary approval at every stage of implementation, to the extent that James Henderson-Stewart of East Fife, who represented the Liberal National Party, moved an amendment to attempt to free the Board from such bureaucratic interference, arguing that if Parliament was not going to trust

2128-572: The Highlands. In October, the Committee on Hydro-Electric Development in Scotland was set up, although it was generally known as the Cooper Committee, after its chairman Lord Cooper . Other members of the committee were William Douglas Weir , an engineer who had helped to plan Britain's national power grid in the 1920s; Neil Beaton , chairman of the Scottish Co-operative Wholesale Society ; James Williamson,

2204-411: The House of Commons that it was 'by common consent, a masterly production and a model of terse, constructive and courageous draftsmanship.' It argued that state policy had for over twenty years discouraged or prohibited private enterprise from developing the water resources of the Highlands, and had failed to produce its own strategy, resulting in deepening depression gripping the region. It suggested that

2280-419: The House of Commons, Johnson stated that the bill was a 'partial remedy' for the malaise of the Highlands, which was 'rapidly bleeding to death' as a result of outward migration. He emphasised that surplus power would be sold to the national grid, to defray the costs of distribution in remote rural areas, and that the new Board would be responsible for economic development and social improvement of large swathes of

2356-546: The House of Lords about the costs of Scottish hydro-electricity. Lord Strathclyde stated that for Loch Gair, the capital cost of the project was expected to be £239 per kW, towards the bottom end of the 27 schemes mentioned, although still higher than the average cost of £175 per kW. The costs were estimated since Loch Gair was one of four schemes where construction had not yet started. It was the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board's Constructional Scheme No. 71. Loch Glashan provides

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2432-741: The Hydro-Electric Board was excluded from them. Some initial work under the act was carried out by civil servants, but the board took office in January 1944, and moved into a permanent office in Rothesay Terrace, Edinburgh a few weeks later. MacColl knew how to build up new organisations, and assembled a group of enthusiastic engineers around him, all of whom were relatively young. It was a fairly small team, and they were always over-worked. MacColl then invited five engineers, drawn from major engineering consultancies, to consider how

2508-578: The North of Scotland." Private consumers would be offered a supply of cheap electricity, and their connection to that supply would not reflect the actual cost of its provision in remote and sparsely-populated areas. The chairman of the new Board was to be Lord Airlie , who had initially been critical of the 1943 Act because its scope was too limited. The deputy chairman and chief executive was Edward MacColl , an engineer with wide experience of hydro-electric projects and electrical distribution networks. It soon became clear that MacColl intended to push ahead with

2584-715: The River Spey and River Laggan to cross the county border into Argyllshire . In 1938, the Caledonian Water Power bill was defeated in Parliament. This would have allowed a private company to build hydro-electric schemes in the Highlands, and its defeat was welcomed by the Inverness Courier , whose editorial proclaimed: The opponents of [the Bill] have been falsely represented as being opposed to

2660-670: The Scottish Office also worked to understand potential opposition to the scheme, noting that the most likely group to oppose it would be the Coal Owners Association, who had a powerful influence in Parliament. By the time it was put before Parliament, Johnson had obtained cross party support from eight Cabinet Ministers, including the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir Kingsley Wood . At its second reading in

2736-491: The West Highland scheme, both of which had failed to gain parliamentary approval, the only schemes left to pursue were small and unlikely to be viable. He initially dismissed the subsequent Hilleary Report as amateurish, but careful study of it convinced him that some action could be taken. Despite the wartime conditions, the committee devoted the first half of 1942 to researching existing documentation and consulting with

2812-660: The aims of the act could be implemented. This constituted the Panel of Technical Advisers, and they became an important and permanent part of the board's activities for fifteen years. The headquarters of the board in Rothesay Terrace, Edinburgh were located outside the board's operating area. The 1943 act specified the management board was to comprise a chairman and not less than four and not more than eight members. The board in 1958 comprised Thomas Johnston (chairman), Sir Hugh Mackenzie (deputy chairman), Sir John Erskine, Sir George McGlashan, A. I. Mackenzie, A. Macrae, I. A. Duncan Millar, William Hughes, and John Jardine. When

2888-591: The aspirations of the Act at breakneck speeds. He produced a list of 102 potential sites in just three months, and in June 1944, the first constructional scheme was published. This was for the Loch Sloy scheme , which had a ready market for bulk supplies to nearby Clydeside, but it included two smaller schemes, to demonstrate the Board's commitment to supplying remote areas. Loch Gair was another small-scale scheme, and when it

2964-405: The baffles decrease the flow velocity and increase the water depth to facilitate fish passage. At larger discharges, baffles induce lower local velocities and generate recirculation regions. However, baffles can reduce drastically the culvert discharge capacity for a given afflux, thus increasing substantially the total cost of the culvert structure to achieve the same design discharge and afflux. It

3040-658: The board was first constituted it owned only two power stations: the oil-fired stations at Kirkwall on Orkney and Rothesay on the Isle of Bute . The following hydro-electric stations were operational prior to nationalisation. Some were transferred to the South of Scotland Board. The principal schemes constructed by the board were: In 1958 the following hydro-electric stations were in operation: Hydro-electric power stations under construction in 1958 were: The following additional hydro-electric stations were commissioned in

3116-476: The case for the Tummel–;Garry scheme and to explain the way in which the board operated. There were some who felt that there was no need for hydro-electric power at all, because it would soon be superseded by atomic power. In summary, Lord Westwood, the leader of the house, spoke in favour of the Board and Lord Kinnaird's motion was rejected, allowing the Board to continue. Lord Westwood also stated during

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3192-631: The construction of three dams, the first near Trinafour to create Loch Errochty along the course of a stream called Errochty Water, a tributary of the River Garry . This would feed a power station near the head of Loch Tummel . The second dam would be built across the River Tummel upstream of the Falls of Tummel, and would feed Clunie power station, located below the falls. The level of Loch Tummel would be 17 feet (5.2 m) higher. The third dam

3268-545: The dam maintains the habitat in the Abhainn Mhòr, which flows in a south-easterly direction and is crossed by the A83 road before discharging into the sea at Loch Gair. Blackmill Loch is at 432 feet (132 m) AOD, has an area of 35 acres (14 ha) and drains 0.91 square miles (2.36 km). Loch Bealach Ghearran is smaller, covering just 15 acres (6 ha), and is located at 584 feet (178 m) AOD. The unnamed loch on

3344-591: The debate that all objections to the Fannich scheme, on the River Conon in Ross-shire , had been withdrawn, and the scheme would therefore proceed. The board's generating capacity was mainly provided by the construction of "schemes" of linked hydro-electric stations, with multiple generators located across one or more catchment area . There were also steam driven and diesel engine driven power stations. When

3420-509: The development of water power and the introduction of industry in every shape and form. Nothing could be further from the truth. What we ... maintain is that there shall be no further development of the water power resources of the Highlands until a Committee is set up by the Government to enquire into [how] ... these water resources should be developed for the benefit of the Highlands. When World War II broke out, Tom Johnston , who had been

3496-422: The east of the loch, the outflow from Loch Bealach Ghearran flows northwards to Blackmill Loch, a reservoir constructed by building a small dam at its western end. The dam is a rockfill structure constructed in 1964 and has a maximum height of 10.4 feet (3.17 m). Most of the other small dams were also constructed in 1964. About 0.3 miles (0.5 km) below the dam is another dam and sluice, which diverts some of

3572-551: The first constructional scheme. The loch had been the proposed site of a 360 MegaWatt pumped storage scheme in 1935, which had been rejected by Parliament, and the new scheme was for a conventional hydro-electric station with a lower capacity of 130 MW. The plans included two smaller projects, at Loch Morar and Kyle of Lochalsh , which were probably included to demonstrate the Board's commitment to providing power to remote communities, even though on their own these two projects would not have been economically viable. Despite approval by

3648-430: The first responsibilities was to produce a Development Scheme. This would detail the available water resources in their area of operation, which had the potential to later become 'constructional schemes'. MacColl pressed on at breakneck speed, and within three months they had a list of 102 sites with potential for development. These ranged in size from small, such as one utilising Loch nan Gillean (Plockton) and streams, with

3724-409: The flow into a tunnel. To the north of this, the Abhainn Bheag an Tunns has been dammed to create Loch Feolin, another small reservoir. The dam is a rockfill structure with a maximum height of 13.7 feet (4.2 m). Further downstream, another small dam with a fish ladder has been constructed, which diverts much of the water into a surface aqueduct. It is carried over the outflow from Blackmill Loch by

3800-433: The last three decades, the ecological impact of culverts on natural streams and rivers has been recognised. While the culvert discharge capacity derives from hydrological and hydraulic engineering considerations, this results often in large velocities in the barrel, which may prevent fish from passing through. Baffles may be installed along the barrel invert to provide some fish-friendly alternative. For low discharges,

3876-469: The level of Loch Glashan, the main reservoir for the scheme, rose. The quality of his work was recognised when the building won a Civic Trust Award in 1962. To provide a water supply, a dam was constructed across the outlet of Loch Glashan, to allow its water level to be raised. In order to construct the dam, the water level was lowered in April 1960, and a crannog became visible. This prehistoric structure

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3952-436: The limits were increased, and between 2004 and 2007 the station qualified for 59,324 Renewable Obligation Certificates, generating a subsidy for SSE of over £2,799,000. Between 2005 and 2007, the station operated at an average load factor of 33.3 percent, although the load factor increased every year during that period. In order to prevent salmon smolts from entering the pipeline from Loch Glashan and being carried down through

4028-586: The name was later changed to Scottish Hydro-Electric plc . The board was dissolved in March 1990 and privatised in June 1991. The company's head office was moved from Edinburgh to Perth. A further name change to Scottish and Southern Energy plc was made in December 1998 after the merger with Southern Electric plc . The brand name "Scottish Hydro-Electric" continues to be used for the company's Scottish business. Fish ladder A fish ladder , also known as

4104-536: The need for effective fish by-passes. Fish ladders have a mixed record of effectiveness. This varies for different types of species, with one study showing that only three percent of American Shad make it through all the fish ladders on the way to their spawning ground. Effectiveness depends on the fish species' swimming ability, and how the fish moves up and downstream. A fish passage that is designed to allow fish to pass upstream may not allow passage downstream, for instance. Fish passages do not always work. In practice

4180-460: The objections, and John Cameron was joined by Sir Robert Bryce Walker and Major G H M Brown Lindsay. It began on 25 May 1945 and lasted for ten days, with the transcript of the proceedings running to 1,188 pages. MacColl was unable to speak, as he was ill, and Lord Airlie was savaged by those opposing the scheme. In desperation, he asked the question, "Do the people of this country want electricity or do they not?" Lord Airlie recovered his composure for

4256-419: The only realistic solution was a new public body called the North of Scotland Hydro-electric Board to initiate and develop schemes, including the distribution of power in areas where there was no existing supply network. Johnson worked hard to ensure that the report would be well received. He talked to many people across the political spectrum, attempting to disarm potential opponents. Civil servants working for

4332-575: The plan. He also did not want to receive any payment for the post, while the war lasted. Like the Inverness Courier, Johnston did not want private enterprise to be managing national resources, and had voted against the Caledonian Water Power bill in 1938. When another bill for a hydro-electric scheme in Glen Affric was put forward in September 1941, it was defeated, and Johnston announced that the government had its own plans for water power in

4408-467: The scheme was in the public interest. He stated that the Secretary of State should approve the scheme, and Tom Johnston as Secretary of State did so. No further objections were received while it was before Parliament, and the Loch Sloy scheme was authorised on 28 March 1945. The second constructional scheme was the Tummel–Garry scheme, which included a much smaller project for a power station at Kerry Falls near Gairloch. The main scheme would involve

4484-538: The scheme, and Colonel Errol, the member for Althincham and Sale , was particularly lucid as he proclaimed that the Scottish Lowlands and England were going to pay for cheap power for the Highlands. He also wondered whether those who would no longer visit the River Tummel might be outnumbered by those who came to see the engineering works, and he reminded the house that everyone connected with the scheme

4560-404: The schemes themselves. However, only Shearer was still alive by 1952, and others became involved in the design panel, including Lindsay. Shearer was an opponent of Modernist architecture, and Lindsay was one of several Traditionalist architects that were employed by the Board. His design for the turbine house on the shore of Loch Gair used stone recovered from a castle which would become submerged as

4636-448: The second day of the hearing, and was followed by technical experts, including Thomas Lawrie, who spoke in place of MacColl, and J Guthrie Brown, who spoke eloquently on every aspect of the civil engineering works. The objectors had their say from the end of day six onwards, and predicted that the amenities of the area would be destroyed by the scheme. It also became clear on day nine that a number of riparian owners had donated waterfalls to

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4712-520: The site is remote, they were delivered by helicopter, and since installation have reduced the time and money spent on maintenance by 93 percent, to 60 hours and £2,500 per year. Flow through the screens is around 48 cubic feet (1.35 m) per second when the power station is operational. The surface level of Loch Glashan is 367 feet (112 m) above Ordnance datum (AOD), it covers 0.70 square miles (1.81 km), and drains an area of 3.72 square miles (9.63 km). Compensation water discharged through

4788-433: The site of the dam after the original plans were published, but Cameron was sympathetic to their cause, and handled attempts to scuttle the plans skillfully. Some of the county councils withdrew their opposition during the hearing, but Dumbarton Council persisted with their claim that they needed Loch Sloy for domestic water supply. Cameron decided that their development plans were too optimistic to be achievable, and ruled that

4864-466: The turbines, SSE plc used a system of ten removable intake screens. The process of removing them for cleaning and then replacing them was a labour-intensive task, as it had to be done once a day between February and November, when smolts could be migrating. It required some 900 hours of staff time per year, with maintenance costs reaching £40,000 per year. In 2015, the screens were replaced with four travelling water screens, manufactured by Hydrolox. Because

4940-480: The waters on the other side. The velocity of water falling over the steps has to be great enough to attract the fish to the ladder, but it cannot be so great that it washes fish back downstream or exhausts them to the point of inability to continue their journey upriver. Written reports of rough fishways date to 17th-century France, where bundles of branches were used to make steps in steep channels to bypass obstructions. A 1714 construction of an old channel bypassing

5016-493: Was Scottish. When a vote was taken, annulment of the order was rejected by 248 votes to 63. Lord Kinnaird was persuaded not to introduce a similar motion to annul the order in the House of Lords, and so the Tummel–Garry scheme was authorised on 19 November 1945. However, Lord Kinnaird introduced a debate on the operation of the Hydro-Electric Development Act, at which Lord Airlie was able to put

5092-601: Was also a director of the Bank of England . Ill health led to him being replaced by the engineer Sir Duncan Watson soon afterwards. Shortly after the conception of the board, Major Gwilym Lloyd George , the Minister for Fuel and Power, led a committee which considered how electricity supply could be rationalised in Britain. Johnson argued that his proposals would destroy the principles of the 1943 act, and eventually ensured that

5168-479: Was built around 1830 by James Smith, a Scottish engineer on the River Teith, near Deanston, Perthshire in Scotland. Both the weir and salmon ladder are there today and many subsequent salmon ladders built in Scotland were inspired by it. A version was patented in 1837 by Richard McFarlan of Bathurst, New Brunswick , Canada, who designed a fishway to bypass a dam at his water-powered lumber mill. In 1852–1854,

5244-404: Was commissioned in 1961, it supplied power to Lochgilphead and the surrounding communities. It was designed by the architect Ian Gordon Lindsay . When the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board was created, a panel of architectural advisors was set up, consisting of Reginald Fairlie , Harold Tarbolton and James Shearer . They were to judge designs submitted by other architects, but soon designed

5320-549: Was created by the Hydro-electric Development (Scotland) Act 1943, a measure championed by the politician Tom Johnston while he was Secretary of State for Scotland. Johnston's vision was for a public body that could build hydro-electric stations throughout the Highlands. Profits made by selling bulk electricity to the Scottish lowlands would be used to fund "the economic development and social improvement of

5396-515: Was excaved by Mr and Mrs J G Scott in July and August of that year, before water levels were raised again in the autumn of 1961. Most of the finds from the dig are stored at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow . The dam is a relatively small mass gravity structure, completed in 1961 with a maximum height of 24 metres (79 ft), from which water reaches the turbine house through a tunnel and

5472-572: Was important, as residents were unlikely to remain content with the economic depression of the region for long. Finally, Lord Lovat appealed that when projects were implemented, they should use Scottish workers from the Highland Division when they returned from war, rather than Irish navvies. The necessary legal powers were granted by the Hydro-Electric Development (Scotland) Act 1943 ( 6 & 7 Geo. 6 . c. 32), which

5548-628: Was passed on 5 August 1943. In September 1943, the names of the five board members were announced. Four were jointly appointed by the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Minister of Fuel and Power . The fifth was a nominee of the Central Electricity Board , and a member of that board. The chairman was to be David Ogilvy, the Earl of Airlie . He had worked with Johnson when they had been in charge of civil defence, and had initially been critical of

5624-418: Was placed before Parliament, but unlike previous schemes, there were attempts to annul the order. William Snadden, the member for Perth and Kinross lead the attack, claiming that "the beauty of the heart of Scotland will be forever broken." All of the issues that had been aired at the tribunal were raised again, and there were savage attacks on both the Board and on Lord Airlie. There were however supporters for

5700-452: Was through 13 distribution areas. The areas' supply capacity and key data for 1956 were as follows: Key operating data for the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board is summarised in the table. The amount of electricity supplied by the board, in GWh, is shown on the graph. North of Scotland Electricity plc was formed in 1989 to acquire the board's assets ahead of privatisation , however

5776-496: Was to be built across the Tummel above Pitlochry , which would supply compensation water to maintain the flow in the river downstream as well as generating power. The Hydro-Electric Board were unsure whether to proceed at the time, because of the opposition to their previous scheme, but MacColl was adamant that they should fight to ensure the principles of the original Act of Parliament were not eroded. The Central Electricity Board and

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