Luichart Power Station is part of the Conon Hydro- Electric Scheme built in the 1950s. There are 7 dams and power stations, 20 miles of tunnels and 15 miles of aqueducts in the Conon Hydro scheme. Dams at Loch Droma and Strath Vaich send water to Glascarnoch Power Station and then on to Mossford Power Station and into Loch Luichart. It also involved raising the level of Loch Fannich. In 'Operation Bathplug' a large plug of rock was blasted from the side of Loch Fannich, thus completing a tunnel to Grudie Power Station.
Luichart Power Station is the largest in the Scheme and was commissioned in 1954. Several of the power stations, including Luichart, Grudie Bridge and Mossford, were designed by the same man, James Shearer, and look very similar to each other. Shearer was also responsible for the Pictish carvings in some of the Power Stations. They were faced with Tarradale stone from Muir of Ord, so that the buildings blended in with the surroundings.
Click to enlarge the image, read the text then answer the following questions.
Questions
- What is being built at the back of the power station?
- What happened in 'Operation Bathplug'?
- How many dams, tunnels and aqueducts were built in the Conon scheme?
- How did James Shearer leave his mark on the Highlands?