Overview of Achanalt Power Station

A small run-of-the-river hydro-electric power station which forms part of the Conon Scheme, Achanalt is located on the River Bran, 1½ miles (2.5 km) west southwest of Lochluichart in Easter Ross. It lies just a quarter-mile (0.5 km) southwest of the Grudie Bridge Power Station. A horseshoe-shaped weir across the river diverts water into a 200-m (656-feet) tunnel which leads downstream to the power station, lying below the Falls of Bran. Commissioned in 1957, the station was the work of James Shearer (1881 - 1962) and is built in grey rubble, quarried locally. It has an installed generation capacity of just 3 megawatts (MW) and returns water into the River Bran which discharges into Loch Luichart a mile (1.5 km) downstream. An unusual fish pass comprising a combination of natural and artificial pools allows salmon to pass upstream.

A barrage at the eastern end of Loch a' Chuilinn, 800m (875 yards) upstream, maintains the water level in that loch providing a constant supply to the power station.