Kinlochleven hydroelectric scheme

The Kinlochleven hydroelectric scheme was built between 1905 and 1909 to supply power for an Aluminium smelter owned by British Aluminium. It was the second in Scotland after the 1896 Falls of Foyers scheme. The smelter and power house were constructed on the south bank of the River Leven in the village of Kinlochleven, in the south-west of the Scottish Highlands. The Blackwater Reservoir was formed by constructing a mass concrete gravity dam over ½ mile (800 m) wide across the Blackwater, the main tributary of the River Leven. This has a catchment area of 60 square miles (160 km2). Water is conveyed along a covered concrete conduit 3.5 miles (5.6 km) long, which also collects water from three side stream intakes. The water descends 935 feet (285 m) from the valve house to the power house via six steel pipes. Power was originally generated by 11 Pelton wheel turbines and three auxiliary sets, with a total capacity of 25,725 kW. These were replaced between 1996 and 2001 by Gilkes, who installed three 10 MW Francis turbines. The aluminium smelter closed in 2000, but the power station continues to export power via the National Grid to the Lochaber smelter in Fort William, via an upgraded 132 kV overhead line.