SSE will begin construction on the £30 million 7.5MW Glasa hydro scheme near Ardross in Ross-shire later this year, it has confirmed

The planning approval comes on the 70^th anniversary of the beginning of the hydro industry in Scotland. It will be the largest hydro scheme to be built in the UK in five years.

First Minister Alex Salmond welcomed the news as he prepared to pay tribute in a speech later today to mark the legacy of Tom Johnston, former Secretary of State for Scotland and visionary behind hydro.

A 1943 parliamentary act kick-started the Power from the Glens campaign which brought large-scale hydro power to Scotland's lochs and rivers.

In his speech Mr Salmond said:

"Hydro-electric and its role in producing energy is one of the greatest industrial success stories of post-war Scotland.

"Hydro drove not only industrial development but also immense social achievement – something which still rings true today as the Scottish Government continues to grow delivery of clean energy through renewables schemes for the 21st Century and also by retaining support for new conventional hydro schemes.

"The Scottish Government is determined to encourage new conventional hydro-power schemes where possible which is why we have gone a step further than the UK Government in retaining our original level of support while the UK has reduced support."

Jim Smith, SSE's Managing Director Renewables, said:

"Scotland and SSE share a strong legacy of hydro-electric power and I am delighted to announce our investment in the Glasa scheme in what is the 70th anniversary year of large scale hydro development in Scotland.

"I believe that hydro still has an important role to play in the decarbonisation of our generation fleet and in providing a flexible and reliable source of electricity within a balanced energy mix."

SSE is proposing a significantly larger pumped storage hydro scheme, Coire Glas, on Loch Lochy, in the Great Glen. The 600MW scheme is currently awaiting planning consent from Scottish Ministers. SSE believes Coire Glas could offer significant benefits to the GB electricity system in terms of capacity and flexibility, but it will require: a supportive public policy and regulatory framework, including the outcome of the UK Government’s electricity market reform proposals; changes to the transmission charging regime envisaged by Ofgem’s Project TransmiT; and the availability of a timely grid connection date. Until this support is clear, SSE said it is not able to make an investment decision on Coire Glas.

The First Minster delivered the inaugural Tom Johnston Lecture in Perth. He told an audience of industry executives attending the Scottish Renewables Hydropower Anniversary Dinner that it was Johnston's understanding of the people of the Highlands and his willingness to listen to their concerns which planned Scotland's renewable success.

"Scotland's natural resources were to be harnessed so that its human resources could flourish. That is perhaps the most important lesson we should draw from the hydro revolution,” he said.

"We need to harness our wind, water, waves and tides to provide the clean green energy that Scotland and the rest of these islands need. Climate change makes that a far greater moral imperative – for Scotland and the world – than it was in the 1940s. But in doing so we need to ensure that the benefits of Scotland's resources flow to Scotland's people."