Government targets 'helped make hydroelectric project possible'

The government's commitment to promoting renewable energy has helped to push a major new hydroelectric scheme in Scotland forward, the project's developers have claimed.

Scottish and Southern Energy confirmed today (January 7th) that a boring machine had completed the 15-month task of digging a five-mile tunnel for the £140 million scheme under construction in Glencoe, Scotland.

And in the wake of the announcement, the company's director of major projects, Jim Smith, told the BBC Radio 4's Today programme that government carbon emissions targets had helped make the project increasingly important, despite the cost involved.

"With the new targets set by Government for CO2 emissions and the increase in renewable energy, hydro, along with other forms of renewable energy, became much more important," Mr Smith claimed.

"We wouldn't invest such a large sum of money if we couldn't get a return on our investment - but it'll take several years before we see that return," he added.

According to the BBC, once completed the new scheme, the first large-scale hydro-electric project to be built since 1957, will provide electricity for as many as 250,000 homes.