This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/7171802.stm
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Hydro tunnel makes breakthrough | Hydro tunnel makes breakthrough |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A huge boring machine has completed a five mile tunnel for a £140m hydro-electric scheme it started digging 15 months ago. | A huge boring machine has completed a five mile tunnel for a £140m hydro-electric scheme it started digging 15 months ago. |
| The 220-metre long machine, called Eliza Jane, made its breakthrough at Glendoe, Fort Augustus, on Monday. | |
| Scottish and Southern Energy's plant above Loch Ness will generate power for 250,000 homes. The scheme is expected to begin operating later this year. | Scottish and Southern Energy's plant above Loch Ness will generate power for 250,000 homes. The scheme is expected to begin operating later this year. |
| It is the first large-scale hydro-electric project since 1957. | It is the first large-scale hydro-electric project since 1957. |
| The project will turn rainfall into green energy through a nine-mile network of tunnels linking a dam above Loch Ness to a generating station 2,000 feet below. | |
| Scottish and Southern Energy said the project would pay for itself over the next 10 years. | |
| See the route of the tunnel | See the route of the tunnel |
| Its chief executive, Ian Marchant, said: "The completion of this phase of the Glendoe development is significant. | |
| "It is a unique, large and complex project and I am delighted with the progress that is being made." | |
| In 2006, a convoy of lorries carried the tunnelling machine in parts from Inverness to Fort Augustus down the A82. | In 2006, a convoy of lorries carried the tunnelling machine in parts from Inverness to Fort Augustus down the A82. |
| Pupils at Kilchuimen Academy, Fort Augustus, dubbed it the Eliza Jane. | Pupils at Kilchuimen Academy, Fort Augustus, dubbed it the Eliza Jane. |
| Prime Minister Tony Blair ignited an explosive charge to begin the creation of the five-mile tunnel in hills above Loch Ness. | Prime Minister Tony Blair ignited an explosive charge to begin the creation of the five-mile tunnel in hills above Loch Ness. |
| The scheme involves the construction of a 1,000m dam at the head of Glen Tarff and the building of an underground power station inside Borlum Hill. | The scheme involves the construction of a 1,000m dam at the head of Glen Tarff and the building of an underground power station inside Borlum Hill. |