The Affric / Beauly hydro-electric power scheme for the generation

Electricity generation

Electricity generation is the process of generating electric energy from other forms of energy.The fundamental principles of electricity generation were discovered during the 1820s and early 1830s by the British scientist Michael Faraday...

 of hydro-electric

Hydroelectricity

Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...

 power is located in the western Highlands

Scottish Highlands

The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...

 of Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. It is based around Glen Strathfarrar

Glen Strathfarrar

Glen Strathfarrar is a glen in the Highland region of Scotland, near Loch Ness.-Geography:The River Farrar runs through the glen.The Glen is part of the Affric-Beauly hydro-electric power scheme, with a dam at Loch Monar and underground power stations at Deanie and Culligran.There are a number of...

, Glen Cannich

Glen Cannich

Glen Cannich is a long glen in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland and through which runs the River Cannich. Emerging from the reservoir of Loch Mullardoch, the river flows east to merge with the River Affric at the village of Cannich, their combined waters forming the River Glass.Downstream of...

 and Glen Affric

Glen Affric

right|300px|thumb|Glen AffricGlen Affric is a glen south-west of the village of Cannich in the Highland region of Scotland, some to the west of Loch Ness. The River Affric runs along its length, passing through Loch Affric and Loch Beinn a' Mheadhoin .It used to be part of the lands of the Clan...

, and Strathglass further downstream.

The scheme was developed by the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board

North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board

The North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board was founded to design, construct and manage hydroelectricity projects in the Highlands of Scotland...

, with plans being approved in 1947.

The largest dam of the scheme is at Loch Mullardoch

Loch Mullardoch

Loch Mullardoch is a major reservoir in Glen Cannich in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. It was created by the damming in 1951 of the River Cannich just upstream of Mullardoch House, as part of the Affric-Beauly hydro-electric power scheme. A car park at the southern end of the dam is the...

, at the head of Glen Cannich. From there, a tunnel takes water to Loch Beinn a' Mheadhoinn (Loch Benevean) in Glen Affric, via a small underground power station near Mullardoch dam. Loch Benevean is also dammed, with a tunnel taking water to the main power station of Fasnakyle, near Cannich

Cannich

Cannich is a village at the southern end of Strathglass, in the Highlands of Scotland, about west of the city of Inverness...

.

To the north in Glen Strathfarrar, Loch Monar is dammed, and a 9 km tunnel carries water to an underground power station at Deanie. Further down the glen, the River Farrar

River Farrar

The River Farrar is a river in the Highlands of Scotland. It begins at the confluence of the Uisge Misgeach and the Garbh-uisge, which flows out of Loch Monar...

 is dammed just below Loch Beannacharan, with a tunnel to take water to Culligran power station (also underground).

The River Farrar joins with the River Glass

River Glass, Strathglass

The River Glass is a river in the Scottish Highlands which flows northeastwards down Strathglass. It begins at the confluence of the River Affric and the Abhainn Deabhag, near the village of Tomich...

 near Struy to form the River Beauly

River Beauly

The River Beauly is a river in the Scottish Highlands, about 15 km west of the city of Inverness.It is about 25 km long, beginning near the village of Struy, at the confluence of the River Farrar and the River Glass...

. Downstream on the River Beauly

River Beauly

The River Beauly is a river in the Scottish Highlands, about 15 km west of the city of Inverness.It is about 25 km long, beginning near the village of Struy, at the confluence of the River Farrar and the River Glass...

, dams and power stations have been built in gorges at Aigas

Aigas

For the nearby town with a similar name, see Crask of AigasAigas is a small crofting hamlet, in Inverness-shire, Scotland, now within the Highland Council area...

 and Kilmorack.

As the rivers in this scheme are important for Atlantic salmon, flow in the rivers is kept above agreed levels. The dams at Kilmorack, Aigas and Beannacharn contain Borland fish lifts

Fish ladder

A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass or fish steps, is a structure on or around artificial barriers to facilitate diadromous fishes' natural migration. Most fishways enable fish to pass around the barriers by swimming and leaping up a series of relatively low steps into the waters on...

 to allow salmon to pass.

Today the scheme is owned and run by Scottish and Southern Energy (previously Scottish Hydro Electric

Scottish Hydro Electric

Scottish Hydro plc was a Public Electricity Supplier formed on 1 August 1989 after a change of name from North of Scotland Electricity plc on that date...

following privatisation).

Power stations

Name	Year commissioned	Gross head (metres)	Installed capacity (megawatts)	Average annual output (million KWh)	OS grid reference
Deanie	1963	113	38	92
Culligran	1962	60	19	59
Mullardoch	1955	27	2.4	8
Fasnakyle	1951	159	69	254
Aigas	1962	18	20	60
Kilmorack	1962	17	20	58