The company submitted a new application this month to develop the scheme in Shieldaig Forest in Wester Ross. Under the plans a small weir would be built at each of the Badachro and Kerry rivers, supplying 3.55MW of electricity to the national grid – enough to power more than 5000 homes.

The proposals were strongly opposed when put forward initially in 1996 and led to a public inquiry the following year. However, the developer withdrew in 2000 before the inquiry result was announced.