8th October 2026
Highland Council's South Planning Applications Committee has given the proposed Glen Earrach pumped storage hydro scheme a major boost, raising no objection to a project that could become one of the biggest infrastructure developments the Highlands has seen for decades.
But this is not the final approval.
Glen Earrach is a Section 36 electricity application, meaning the final decision rests with the Scottish Government's Energy Consents Unit. Highland Council's position is subject to conditions, including NatureScot withdrawing its outstanding objection and environmental mitigation being secured.
Nevertheless, the council's decision on 7 October 2026 marks an important stage.
And the scale of what is being proposed deserves attention.
This is not just another hydro scheme
Glen Earrach Energy is proposing a pumped storage facility using Loch nam Breac Dearga, high above Loch Ness, as the upper reservoir and Loch Ness as the lower reservoir.
The difference in height is around 480 metres.
When electricity is plentiful, water would be pumped uphill and stored. When electricity is needed, the water would be released downhill through turbines to generate electricity.
The proposed scheme would have around 2,000MW of pumping capacity, 1,800MW of generating capacity and storage of around 34,000MWh. The proposed system would operate for an intended 125 years.
In simple terms, it is a giant battery made from water and gravity.
And unlike a conventional power station, its importance is not simply how much electricity it produces. Its value is in being able to store electricity and release it when the grid needs it.
That becomes increasingly important as Scotland adds more wind generation.
A construction workforce of extraordinary scale
Perhaps the most striking part of the Highland Council report is the expected employment.
The project is expected to generate around 2,940 gross person-years of employment each year during construction, with the council report estimating an average net additional employment of 1,765 person-years per year within the Highland Council area after allowing for leakage and displacement.
The construction period is expected to last around five years, potentially extending to six.
The figures need some explanation.
It does not mean that 1,765 people will necessarily be permanently employed at the site every year.
The project's own plans envisage a temporary workforce accommodation village for up to 1,000 workers.
That village would cover about 21.5 hectares and include facilities such as a shop, gym, sports facilities and medical care.
That gives some idea of the scale.
For a rural Highland area, this would be an enormous temporary influx of workers.
It could be a headache.
It could also be an opportunity.
Where could the economic benefit go?
The economic assessment estimates that the project could contribute around £306.8 million in GVA to the national economy during construction, of which about £132.7 million could be within the Highland Council area.
Once operational, the assessment estimates around £2.3 million a year in economic contribution to the Highland Council area, alongside about 41 full-time equivalent renewable-energy jobs.
There could also be a much wider supply-chain effect.
Construction of a project of this complexity requires engineers, plant operators, construction workers, transport companies, accommodation, catering, professional services, materials, maintenance and specialist contractors.
The challenge for Highland businesses is making sure they actually get a substantial share of that work.
A large project can create enormous economic activity without necessarily creating as many local jobs as the headline figure suggests.
That is why the detailed supply-chain commitments may ultimately be more important to Highland businesses than the headline workforce number.
It will physically change the landscape
The project is also much more substantial than the phrase "pumped storage hydro" might suggest.
The plans include a main dam around 1,000 metres long and 59 metres high, two additional saddle dams, around 11.5 kilometres of new or upgraded tracks, multiple tunnel systems and an underground power cavern approximately 300 metres long, 30 metres wide and 55 metres high.
There would be 11 temporary construction compounds and six permanent compounds.
Much of the major machinery would be underground, which helps reduce some visual impact.
But building something of this scale in the Highlands inevitably means roads, construction traffic, excavations, tunnels, dams, temporary accommodation and changes to the landscape.
The council report acknowledges that this is a development of exceptional scale.
The environmental argument has not disappeared
This is where the story becomes more complicated.
NatureScot has had concerns about the possible effects on the River Moriston Special Area of Conservation and Urquhart Bay Woods.
Issues have included Atlantic salmon, freshwater pearl mussels, changes in Loch Ness water levels, river flows and the effects of water-level changes on woodland habitats.
The Ness District Salmon Fishery Board has also objected, arguing that the scheme could affect salmon migration, river flows and Loch Ness ecology.
RSPB has raised concerns about the possible impact on Slavonian grebes.
The Highland Council report says several rounds of additional environmental information have been submitted, with a number of earlier concerns addressed. But at the time the report was prepared, NatureScot's formal objection remained outstanding.
That is why the council's decision is conditional.
It has not simply said: build it.
It has effectively said that, subject to the outstanding environmental issues being resolved and appropriate conditions being imposed, it raises no objection.
That distinction matters.
There is also a potential long-term community benefit
Glen Earrach Energy has signed the Highland Council's Social Value Charter and proposed a Community Wealth Fund based on allocating 5% of the project's annual gross margin to communities.
The company estimates that this could provide more than £20 million a year and potentially around £3 billion over the project's initial 125-year operating period.
That is an estimate, rather than money sitting in a bank today, and it will depend on the project being built and operating successfully.
But if the project proceeds, it could become one of the largest long-term community investment mechanisms associated with an energy project in Scotland.
There are also commitments around affordable housing, infrastructure, nature restoration and workforce skills.
Those could be particularly important.
A project bringing up to 1,000 workers into the area creates demand for accommodation and services. If the development helps create housing and skills that remain after construction finishes, its legacy could be considerably greater than the construction jobs alone.
The Highland economy needs to capture the opportunity
This may be the most important issue for Highland Council and local businesses now.
It is one thing to approve a major project.
It is another to ensure that Highland companies are positioned to benefit from it.
The council, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, local colleges, UHI, business organisations and the developer could potentially work together well before construction begins.
Local firms need to know what contracts will be available.
Young people need to know what skills will be required.
Training providers need to know which skills will be in demand.
And businesses from Inverness to Drumnadrochit, Fort Augustus and beyond need an opportunity to compete for the supply-chain work.
If much of the specialist work is simply imported from outside the Highlands, the economic benefit will inevitably leak away.
If local businesses can win contracts and local people acquire transferable skills, the project could leave something behind long after the construction camps disappear.
It also raises a bigger question about Scotland's electricity system
There is another reason Glen Earrach matters.
Scotland is building large amounts of renewable electricity generation, particularly wind.
But electricity generation and electricity demand do not always occur at the same time.
The wind can be blowing strongly when demand is relatively low.
It can also be calm when demand is high.
Pumped storage provides a way of moving electricity through time.
The Glen Earrach developers say the project could store up to 34GWh of electricity and help reduce the need for fossil-fuel generation and curtailment of renewable electricity.
Whether all the claimed savings materialise is something that ultimately needs to be tested against the project's final economics and operation.
But the underlying problem is real.
A renewable electricity system needs storage, flexibility and a stronger grid as well as more generation.
The real test begins after planning
For Highland Council, today's decision may eventually look like the easy part.
The much harder job is making sure the promised economic benefits actually materialise while the environmental safeguards are maintained.
A project capable of employing around 1,000 people during construction and generating more than a billion pounds of estimated Highland economic activity is too large to be treated simply as another planning application.
It needs an economic strategy around it.
There should be a deliberate effort to maximise Highland employment, apprenticeships, training, local procurement and business opportunities.
There should also be transparent monitoring of what the project actually delivers.
How many Highland residents get jobs?
How many local companies win contracts?
How much money is spent in Highland?
How many apprentices are trained?
How much affordable housing is created?
And, just as importantly, are the environmental conditions being met?
A project that could change the Highlands
Glen Earrach is still a proposal.
The Scottish Government has the final say.
There are unresolved environmental issues.
And the construction timetable, financing and final design will ultimately determine whether the project becomes reality.
But the scale is already clear.
This could bring a temporary workforce comparable to a small Highland community, a huge programme of tunnelling and civil engineering, hundreds of millions of pounds of economic activity and potentially a century or more of energy infrastructure.
For the Highlands, that is much more than another renewable-energy development.
It is potentially an economic project, an energy-security project and a test of whether rural Scotland can capture a meaningful share of the wealth generated by its natural resources.
The opportunity is enormous.
So is the responsibility to make sure the Highlands gets more than a construction site and a set of electricity cables.
Glen Earrach could be one of the biggest economic opportunities to reach the Highlands in decades. The question now is whether the Highlands can make sure enough of the benefit stays here.
Note
To put the figures into everyday terms, Glen Earrach would be capable of producing up to 1,800MW of electricity at any one time. That is 1.8 million kilowatts. Its proposed 34GWh storage capacity represents 34 million units of electricity. Using the Scottish median household electricity consumption of around 2,400kWh a year, that is equivalent to roughly 14,000 homes' annual electricity use. But Glen Earrach is not designed to power 14,000 homes continuously for a year. It is a giant electricity store, charging when surplus electricity is available and releasing it when the grid needs it. At full 1,800MW output, its stored energy could theoretically be released over roughly 19 hours.