Balance of power: why Loch Ness hydro storage schemes are stirring up trouble

As Scottish energy firms race to meet challenges of storing power, critics fear proposals will affect delicate hydrology of lochBrian Shaw stood at the water's edge of Loch Ness and pointed to a band of glistening pebbles and damp sand skirting the shore. It seemed as if the tide had gone out.Overnight, Foyers, a small pumped storage power station, had recharged itself drawing up millions of litres of water into a reservoir high up on a hill behind it, ready for release through its turbines to boost the UK's electricity supply. That led to the surface of Loch Ness, the largest body of freshwater in the UK, falling by 14cm in a matter of hours. Continue reading...