Sloy/Awe hydro power scheme

With the exception of Cruachan Power Station which was commissioned in 1965, major work on the Sloy/Awe scheme was completed by 1963, the year the Beatles had their first No 1 hit with From Me To You – and a world away from the immediate post-war austerity being experienced when Sloy Power Station was commissioned just 14 years earlier.

Power stations

Power stations	Capacity (MW)	Gross head (metres)	Average annual output (million units)	Year started
Sloy	152.5	277	130	1950
Sron Mor	5	46	7	1957
Clachan	40	294	82	1955
Allt-na-Lairige	6	249	19	1956
Cruachan*	440	365	c700	1965
Nant	15	172	36	1963
Inverawe	25	36	106	1963
Kilmelford	2	111	12	1956
Loch Gair	6	109	19	1961
Striven	8	123	22	1951
Lussa	2.4	116	9	1952

*No longer owned by SSE Renewables

Major dams

Major dams	Type	Length	Height	Completed
Sloy	Massive buttress	357	55	1951
Allt-na-Lairige	Pre-stressed gravity	425	24	1956
Shira (main)	Round headed buttress	725	45	1959
Shira (lower)	Concrete gravity and earth fill with concrete core	305	18	1956

If you're interested in our hydro heritage, visit Pitlochry Dam Visitor Centre, located beside our Pitlochry Power Station in Perthshire, Scotland.

The visitor centre showcases the rich history of hydro electricity in the north of Scotland and how it transformed all our lives. On display are a number of fascinating artefacts that show how generations of homes have been transformed by electrical appliances.

Visitors will meet the visionaries, such as Tom Johnston, who saw the untapped potential of hydro power in Scotland as well as hear the stories of the Hydro Boys and Tunnel Tigers who lived – and sadly in some cases died – building the schemes.

Pitlochry’s ‘fish ladder’ was integral to the design for the hydro electricity scheme in the early 1950’s. Thousands visit the Dam to see the salmon swim to their breeding grounds up river and now everyone can learn the secrets of that incredible journey.