0:00:02 > 0:00:04We take electricity for granted...
0:00:04 > 0:00:07Most people just think that electricity comes through a cable
0:00:07 > 0:00:09in the ground to your house and that's it.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12..and never give a second thought to how it's made.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15The flames are nice and bright and bushy.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17But behind the scenes,
0:00:17 > 0:00:20our power companies are struggling to keep the lights on.
0:00:20 > 0:00:22BEEPING
0:00:22 > 0:00:24National Grid want that energy now,
0:00:24 > 0:00:27we can't afford to miss that instruction.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29This winter, we could face blackouts.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32I can't say, "I'm sorry, you'll have to turn your fridge off."
0:00:32 > 0:00:36It's a fire at a coal-powered fire station.
0:00:36 > 0:00:41Power stations we've relied on for 50 years are coming down.
0:00:41 > 0:00:43Bills and profits have gone up.
0:00:43 > 0:00:44Is anybody home?
0:00:44 > 0:00:46How can these profits be fair
0:00:46 > 0:00:50when the people cannot afford to pay for their energy?
0:00:50 > 0:00:54The energy giants are under fire from all sides.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57People hate you, let's be honest. They don't like you guys, right?
0:00:57 > 0:01:00I've been told to go hang myself by a customer.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03Right, I'm trying to help you, sir. Hello?
0:01:04 > 0:01:09Now one of the country's biggest, SSE, has let the cameras in.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12Filmed over one critical year...
0:01:12 > 0:01:16Basically, if we don't generate enough, the lights will go out.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19..this is a surprising story of a hidden world...
0:01:19 > 0:01:22Voila, une turbine.
0:01:22 > 0:01:24..as an army of workers...
0:01:24 > 0:01:26Good morning!
0:01:26 > 0:01:29..battle to keep our power flowing.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31We need to make a saving of half a million pounds.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35Where?!
0:01:37 > 0:01:39This time...
0:01:39 > 0:01:42This is the biggest transmission project ever undertaken in the UK.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45..the story of a revolution in our energy...
0:01:45 > 0:01:48It works. It's free.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51..a giant gamble on going green.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55The power that we generate, I don't think is worth it
0:01:55 > 0:01:57for the impact that you have.
0:01:57 > 0:01:58But at what cost?
0:01:58 > 0:02:02When there is no beauty left, what then?
0:02:02 > 0:02:04Tower coming down.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06It's not Government money, it's our money.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21Everybody wants to know why they can't get enough electricity.
0:02:21 > 0:02:26British Electricity plan to build another 25 power stations by...
0:02:26 > 0:02:31In the 1930s, Britain embarked on a huge transformation -
0:02:31 > 0:02:34to bring electricity to every home.
0:02:35 > 0:02:36There lies its greatest task -
0:02:36 > 0:02:39to carry into every corner of the countryside
0:02:39 > 0:02:41the labour-saving gift of electricity.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44Each power station plays its part in replacing
0:02:44 > 0:02:48the labour of the German prisoners returned now to their own country.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51For a way to plenty is the power line which reaches out
0:02:51 > 0:02:53over the hills.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00Now, 80 years on, a second revolution is underway.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11In the desolate mountains of the Scottish Highlands,
0:03:11 > 0:03:15a group of Irishmen are planning something big.
0:03:17 > 0:03:22They're about to build a final turbine in the UK's newest wind farm.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24I'll put it on for you.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30Today, it's all being led by a man known as "Chicken".
0:03:31 > 0:03:34- INTERVIEWER:- How many hours does it usually take, in good weather?
0:03:34 > 0:03:36In good weather, if you've had a good start,
0:03:36 > 0:03:38you're looking at eight hours, maybe.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41Eight-and-a-half hours, you can have a complete turbine built.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43Why do you call Chicken Chicken?
0:03:43 > 0:03:46Cos he eats a lot of chicken!
0:03:46 > 0:03:49Francis is called Fatty for the obvious reasons.
0:03:51 > 0:03:53Come on!
0:03:56 > 0:03:59Today, weather is not on their side.
0:03:59 > 0:04:00There's a storm closing in
0:04:00 > 0:04:06and in an operation involving large cranes, huge heights and heavy loads,
0:04:06 > 0:04:08strong wind is, ironically,
0:04:08 > 0:04:12the one weather you can't build wind turbines in.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15The weather's very, very changeable up here,
0:04:15 > 0:04:17especially way up in the mountains.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20So, hopefully, we'll beat the wind. That's the plan.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24The build starts by constructing the tower in which the turbine
0:04:24 > 0:04:26and blades will eventually sit.
0:04:26 > 0:04:30Three hollow steel sections must be lifted and stood
0:04:30 > 0:04:32on one another, end to end,
0:04:32 > 0:04:36eventually to make a tower 70 metres tall.
0:04:40 > 0:04:42The base section weighs around 60 tonnes.
0:04:42 > 0:04:44It's lifted by crane
0:04:44 > 0:04:47and guided towards the tower foundations.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58OVER RADIO:
0:04:58 > 0:05:03The crane lowers the base section over the team below.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16Just a massive LEGO set, that's all it is.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19It'll all bolt together. Get your bolts in, keep going, keep going.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22With the base section fixed to the foundations,
0:05:22 > 0:05:24the team climb to the top
0:05:24 > 0:05:27ready to receive the 55-tonne midsection.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39They're guided slowly together,
0:05:39 > 0:05:41like shuttles docking in space.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46In these conditions,
0:05:46 > 0:05:49it's a precarious job, requiring pinpoint precision.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07That's it. It's on.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09With two tower sections in place,
0:06:09 > 0:06:13now comes the most difficult part - the top.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17It's the lightest in weight,
0:06:17 > 0:06:18at a mere 40 tonnes,
0:06:18 > 0:06:21and is lifted 70 metres above ground level,
0:06:21 > 0:06:23where the wind is at its strongest.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27Just now, it's borderline. That's the way it is at the minute,
0:06:27 > 0:06:30so we'll just watch it and, hopefully, today,
0:06:30 > 0:06:32we'll have a full turbine up.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42With a 27-metre steel cylinder hanging above their heads,
0:06:42 > 0:06:45there's no room for error.
0:06:52 > 0:06:54LOUD CLUNK
0:06:54 > 0:06:56The tower is complete,
0:06:56 > 0:07:00but the most difficult lifts, the rotor and the turbine,
0:07:00 > 0:07:01are still to come.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04Now let's see what else is in the wind.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07And what better than that grand old monument to man's ingenuity,
0:07:07 > 0:07:08the windmill?
0:07:08 > 0:07:12We've been harnessing the power of wind for centuries,
0:07:12 > 0:07:15but only in recent years have we attempted it
0:07:15 > 0:07:16on a national scale.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20Britain's first commercial wind farm has started generating
0:07:20 > 0:07:22electricity in north Cornwall.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25Our trusted fossil-fuel power stations
0:07:25 > 0:07:28are seen as ageing liabilities
0:07:28 > 0:07:30since our politicians signed us up to
0:07:30 > 0:07:34a series of legally binding emissions targets.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39Politicians at the Kyoto climate conference
0:07:39 > 0:07:42finally announced overnight that they had reached an agreement.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44It's very good for the environment,
0:07:44 > 0:07:46reducing those greenhouse gas emissions,
0:07:46 > 0:07:51and it's been good for Britain that we played a major part in it.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54The British Government committed to a tougher greenhouse gas target.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57Instead of reducing them by 60% by the year 2050,
0:07:57 > 0:08:00the new target is 80%.
0:08:01 > 0:08:06We have to reduce our emissions to just 20% of what they were in 1990,
0:08:06 > 0:08:11one of the harshest targets of any nation in the world.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16It's forcing us into an expensive transformation
0:08:16 > 0:08:18of how we feed our energy addiction.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26In the Highlands, Chicken and the gang are still trying to finish
0:08:26 > 0:08:28the UK's latest wind turbine.
0:08:30 > 0:08:31OVER RADIO:
0:08:36 > 0:08:38The final task is to make the rotor -
0:08:38 > 0:08:42three blades measuring 42 metres in length -
0:08:42 > 0:08:45all locked into place inside a central hub.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48But incoming weather is not looking good.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50From tomorrow on, it's looking bad,
0:08:50 > 0:08:53so the pressure's on to get this rotor built and up tonight,
0:08:53 > 0:08:56even if we have to work on, we're going to have to get it done.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58They must complete the turbine today
0:08:58 > 0:09:00so that it's structurally stable
0:09:00 > 0:09:03before the storm hits tomorrow morning.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10With the sun now setting,
0:09:10 > 0:09:15the race is on to get this 43-tonne rotor in place before nightfall.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03As they say in France, voila un turbine!
0:10:05 > 0:10:08Why are we going so mad for wind?
0:10:08 > 0:10:10It works. It's free.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12It costs a lot for a turbine, but wind's free
0:10:12 > 0:10:15and it's not going to stop.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17You're always going to have wind.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20Do you think they're building too many turbines?
0:10:20 > 0:10:23You look at Germany - a very wealthy, powerful country -
0:10:23 > 0:10:25it's covered in them.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27Covered. And they're still building them.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30And they're going to keep building them. Why? Because they work.
0:10:30 > 0:10:32You're always going to have wind.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34It's turbines or nuclear.
0:10:34 > 0:10:36HE SCOFFS
0:10:36 > 0:10:38Easy choice for me, like.
0:10:38 > 0:10:40I don't want a nuclear plant beside my house.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45Don't particularly want a wind turbine beside it either, mind you!
0:10:45 > 0:10:49This wind farm has cost £90 million,
0:10:49 > 0:10:52funded by us through our energy bills.
0:10:53 > 0:10:57It joins 492 other wind farms across Britain
0:10:57 > 0:11:01and will be the 47th operated by energy giant SSE.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06But they leave us with an expensive problem.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10This is where they pylon men turn spacemen.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14Pylons themselves certainly have their own kind of grandeur
0:11:14 > 0:11:16as they march across the land.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24Many of the UK's power lines were built in the 1930s.
0:11:26 > 0:11:30They don't have the capacity to carry all the energy renewables produce
0:11:30 > 0:11:34from the edges of the country to the cities that need it.
0:11:37 > 0:11:41In response, SSE is building a huge new power line,
0:11:41 > 0:11:44known as the Beauly to Denny line.
0:11:49 > 0:11:54When completed, it will stretch 137 miles down the spine of Scotland...
0:11:57 > 0:12:01..from the town of Beauly in the north to Denny in the south,
0:12:01 > 0:12:04where it will plug in to the National Grid.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12Up to 800 contractors a day are labouring to build it.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15It's a project Ewan Macfarlane has been working on
0:12:15 > 0:12:17for the last five years.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21This is the biggest transmission project ever undertaken in the UK.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24I think, even when they built the National Grid,
0:12:24 > 0:12:28it wasn't done in such big stages as this. This is a first.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32In order for all these renewable targets that we've got to meet,
0:12:32 > 0:12:35this had to go ahead.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38So it was, I suppose, in the nation's interest.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42This thing will probably be... It'll last longer than I will, anyway.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44How is all this paid for?
0:12:44 > 0:12:46We recover that money through the customer's bill.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49How much does this cost?
0:12:49 > 0:12:52I think, by the time we complete it,
0:12:52 > 0:12:54I think it's about £690 million,
0:12:54 > 0:12:56is what this is going to cost.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00Easy if you say it quick, eh?
0:13:00 > 0:13:02That was the figure I was told, anyway.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05Hopefully it comes in a bit cheaper.
0:13:05 > 0:13:06HE CHUCKLES
0:13:06 > 0:13:11Today, a five-mile section of new pylons is being strung with cable.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17Over this difficult terrain, there's only one way to do it.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22Taking charge of the operation is Andy Simpson...
0:13:22 > 0:13:25known to his workmates as "Chopper".
0:13:26 > 0:13:29- Your nickname?- Yes, aye.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33Unfortunately, the nickname Chopper stuck with me about three years ago.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36I've not been able to shake that off.
0:13:36 > 0:13:40Presumably, that's because of the helicopters, nothing else?
0:13:40 > 0:13:42I believe so.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45THEY LAUGH
0:13:48 > 0:13:52That nickname won't go away if you film things like that!
0:13:56 > 0:14:00Chopper's job is to co-ordinate the helicopter from the ground.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04It's used to pull the heavy cable through the pylon's arms
0:14:04 > 0:14:06from one end of the section to the other
0:14:06 > 0:14:09in a process known as "stringing".
0:14:11 > 0:14:17It's a job he's been doing all down this line for the last three years.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20Right, here we go.
0:14:24 > 0:14:25Guided by Chopper,
0:14:25 > 0:14:29the pilot must thread the cable through running blocks -
0:14:29 > 0:14:31wheels at the end of the pylon's arms -
0:14:31 > 0:14:35and all whilst he hovers just metres away.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44The length of cable can then be pulled through,
0:14:44 > 0:14:47as the pilot continues to the next tower.
0:14:54 > 0:14:58Chopper races ahead to co-ordinate between the pilot
0:14:58 > 0:15:00and the ground team feeding him the cable.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06Have you got much left on that drum?
0:15:08 > 0:15:09What does that mean?
0:15:09 > 0:15:13That's three layers of wire left on the drum that he's pulling.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17We'll count them down - three layers, two layers, one layer.
0:15:21 > 0:15:23Two layers, received.
0:15:23 > 0:15:24Two layers, Nick.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28OK. Stop, stop, stop.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32OK. All stop. Brakes on.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37A cable drum only lasts around 1,000 metres,
0:15:37 > 0:15:40roughly the distance between two pylons,
0:15:40 > 0:15:44so Chopper has to ensure drums are quickly replaced and connected
0:15:44 > 0:15:47to make one long, continuous span...
0:15:48 > 0:15:51..all whilst the helicopter hovers.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56OK, Nick, brakes are off. Good to go.
0:15:59 > 0:16:01There are six arms on all these pylons,
0:16:01 > 0:16:05meaning the helicopter must fly end to end six times.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17The stringing is only complete
0:16:17 > 0:16:20when the helicopter picks up a drum of earth cable,
0:16:20 > 0:16:24a wire that protects the whole system from lightning strike.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31It's threaded through the tops of the towers
0:16:31 > 0:16:35and spooled down until it reaches the very end of the section.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40- Andy.- Fantastic. That was really good.
0:16:40 > 0:16:42Brilliant, man.
0:16:42 > 0:16:44The earth wire spooled out, that's us finished.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46- Good day.- Good day, yeah.
0:16:46 > 0:16:48Excellent job.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50With the final cable secured,
0:16:50 > 0:16:53this section is complete,
0:16:53 > 0:16:57but there's still plenty of work to do before the line can go live.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06Sir John Lister-Kaye owns the House of Aigas
0:17:06 > 0:17:09and its sprawling 300-acre estate
0:17:09 > 0:17:12near the start of the Beauly to Denny line.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18The house that the man built on the island there,
0:17:18 > 0:17:20cost £20 million to build...
0:17:21 > 0:17:24..and it's now on the market for £5 million.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29As a result of the power line?
0:17:29 > 0:17:33Yeah. Oh, definitely. He's got a pylon right in his garden.
0:17:35 > 0:17:41Sir John fears 600 new pylons, standing up to 65 metres tall,
0:17:41 > 0:17:43will ruin the land near his estate,
0:17:43 > 0:17:47including the home of one of Britain's rarest animals,
0:17:47 > 0:17:49the wildcat.
0:17:50 > 0:17:54That's where it goes through wildcat habitat, there,
0:17:54 > 0:17:58and we found scat, which we had analysed,
0:17:58 > 0:18:00which was definitely wildcat scat.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03Scat is...?
0:18:03 > 0:18:05Poo, yeah.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10Sir John was just one of many who opposed the line.
0:18:10 > 0:18:14With 20,000 objections, it's one of the most objected to
0:18:14 > 0:18:16construction projects in Britain.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22OK. We'll go up into this...
0:18:29 > 0:18:31There you are.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33That's how intrusive it is.
0:18:33 > 0:18:34Take your pick.
0:18:34 > 0:18:40One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten,
0:18:40 > 0:18:42eleven, twelve.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45We have 5,000 to 6,000 schoolchildren a year
0:18:45 > 0:18:48who come here to learn about land use,
0:18:48 > 0:18:51we teach environmental education, that's what we do here,
0:18:51 > 0:18:55and so, obviously, I feel quite bitter
0:18:55 > 0:18:57that that has been imposed on us.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00What do you see when you look at those?
0:19:01 > 0:19:03I see them as a utility.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06They are a means for getting electricity from one place
0:19:06 > 0:19:08to another.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11I don't see them as a great feat of engineering.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13I don't think there's anything
0:19:13 > 0:19:15particularly clever about the engineering
0:19:15 > 0:19:20and it's the impact in very, very sensitive places like this
0:19:20 > 0:19:23that I find is so objectionable.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25BIRDSONG
0:19:28 > 0:19:30Boils down to priorities, doesn't it?
0:19:32 > 0:19:34Do you know how this is paid for?
0:19:34 > 0:19:37You can bet your life that it's the poor old punter
0:19:37 > 0:19:39who will ultimately end up paying.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46In our frantic rush to hit renewable targets,
0:19:46 > 0:19:50it's not just expensive new wind farms and huge new power lines
0:19:50 > 0:19:52we're turning to.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54We're also making ever-increasing demands
0:19:54 > 0:19:57on our oldest form of renewable energy.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00For five years, man battled with nature,
0:20:00 > 0:20:04a battle apiece, to harness nature to serve men's needs.
0:20:04 > 0:20:08Water trapped in a man-made lake becomes power,
0:20:08 > 0:20:10160ft high stands the dam,
0:20:10 > 0:20:14a concrete cliff to gather and conserve the waters from the hills,
0:20:14 > 0:20:18and send 200,000 tonnes an hour down to the power station below,
0:20:18 > 0:20:23and into Loch Lomond the water will empty, when its work is done.
0:20:29 > 0:20:30One of the best views in Scotland
0:20:30 > 0:20:32is when we go up round this corner here,
0:20:32 > 0:20:35especially on a nice, bright day. Beautiful.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38Bobby Bennett has been working on the hydroelectric schemes
0:20:38 > 0:20:42high in the Scottish hills for 14 years.
0:20:45 > 0:20:47He's part of a team known as "the water men",
0:20:47 > 0:20:49who roam the mountains,
0:20:49 > 0:20:51making sure every drop of rainwater
0:20:51 > 0:20:54can makes its way into man-made channels,
0:20:54 > 0:20:58and that nothing stops its flow down to the lochs.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02What kind of stuff have you pulled out of here before?
0:21:02 > 0:21:06Sticks, dead leaves, branches,
0:21:06 > 0:21:08the odd dead animal.
0:21:08 > 0:21:09Not very pleasant.
0:21:09 > 0:21:13That's why we have Davie here. He's good at that!
0:21:14 > 0:21:18Hydroelectric usually only produces 1.5% of our electricity,
0:21:18 > 0:21:22but it's being called on more than ever before.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26Last year, its output went up by a quarter, a new record,
0:21:26 > 0:21:29and it's down to the water men to keep it running.
0:21:29 > 0:21:33There was a bit of heavy rain the last couple of nights,
0:21:33 > 0:21:36so it's washed down an old dead sheep,
0:21:36 > 0:21:37it's got caught in the screen,
0:21:37 > 0:21:41and we just have to clean that off so that the water has a clean run.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44There's no point being SHEEPISH about it!
0:21:44 > 0:21:46Just got to go and do it.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52Pretty bloody rancid, I can tell you.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57So, what we do with that, we just leave that there,
0:21:57 > 0:21:59and we'll contact the local farmer,
0:21:59 > 0:22:02and he'll come and dispose of the carcass that's left.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04That is stinking!
0:22:04 > 0:22:06HE LAUGHS
0:22:06 > 0:22:09DJ, you just stand there? You don't do the sheep?
0:22:09 > 0:22:11Aye, I'm skilled. He's unskilled.
0:22:11 > 0:22:13THEY LAUGH
0:22:17 > 0:22:20This afternoon, Bobby, Davie, Steve and Ryan
0:22:20 > 0:22:22are tackling one of the most important jobs
0:22:22 > 0:22:25in the hydroelectric world.
0:22:25 > 0:22:27You take one side and I'll take the other.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29Ditch-digging.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45So, this will catch all the water from this side of the hill,
0:22:45 > 0:22:47coming in to the aqueduct.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50We don't have water, the machines don't run.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53At the end of the day, it's as simple as that.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55And this gives us extra water.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57And then round there...
0:22:57 > 0:23:00Quite primitive but very effective...when you see it.
0:23:01 > 0:23:06But constantly digging ditches can upset some of the local residents.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11- They're voles.- Wee water voles. - Water voles.
0:23:14 > 0:23:15Watch...
0:23:24 > 0:23:28Just to give it a bit of protection. Hopefully it'll be fine.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31You wouldn't want someone to go through your own house like that
0:23:31 > 0:23:35if they didn't help you out in some way, shape or form afterwards.
0:23:35 > 0:23:37It'll be fine. It'll scurry off
0:23:37 > 0:23:40and find another ditch to live in. There's plenty of them.
0:23:45 > 0:23:47Not a bad office to be in, is it?
0:23:47 > 0:23:49A view like that.
0:23:49 > 0:23:51Not many people get to work in a place like this.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04You can actually see the water starting to flow in the ditch now
0:24:04 > 0:24:07and obviously, when the rain comes,
0:24:07 > 0:24:10the whole ditch will wash itself out, which is good,
0:24:10 > 0:24:13and in two years' time, it'll just close over again.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16So, by the time we get from one end to the other,
0:24:16 > 0:24:19it's generally time to start again at the other end
0:24:19 > 0:24:21and work your way back.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26Each ditch may only add a trickle but, together,
0:24:26 > 0:24:30these streams carry huge amounts of water into the loch below
0:24:30 > 0:24:33and eventually make electricity.
0:24:40 > 0:24:46But re-routing rivers, flooding land and constructing dams
0:24:46 > 0:24:50has caused problems downstream with young salmon,
0:24:50 > 0:24:51known as smolts.
0:24:51 > 0:24:55Naturally, the smolts are heading down the river,
0:24:55 > 0:24:58they're coming down the loch here,
0:24:58 > 0:25:03and obviously they can't get past this structure here, this dam.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09If they don't find their way through here, we have a bit of a problem.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13Alastair Stephen is an ecologist working for SSE.
0:25:13 > 0:25:18There are fears that dams might be stopping young salmon migrating out to sea.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25The dams were originally built with a side route for the salmon,
0:25:25 > 0:25:26known as a fish pass,
0:25:26 > 0:25:30but Alastair is concerned that not all are getting through.
0:25:30 > 0:25:34What we are hoping is that the smolts find their way effectively
0:25:34 > 0:25:37into the fish pass and downstream.
0:25:39 > 0:25:41Alastair has a plan to find out
0:25:41 > 0:25:44just how many are making it through the dam.
0:25:46 > 0:25:50It starts with him catching as many smolts as possible upstream.
0:25:51 > 0:25:55I've had a number of people phone up and say, "There's a crashed
0:25:55 > 0:25:59"aircraft in the river." But that's called a rotary screw trap.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01That's it in the river down there.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05You meet people for the first time and you say, "I work for Scottish
0:26:05 > 0:26:09"and Southern Energy." They think you are a meter reader or something
0:26:09 > 0:26:10and they can't think that...
0:26:10 > 0:26:12Why would you be employing a freshwater biologist?
0:26:12 > 0:26:14But luckily they do.
0:26:15 > 0:26:19This bank along here, in the autumn, can be absolutely heaving with
0:26:19 > 0:26:22chanterelle mushrooms.
0:26:22 > 0:26:26Two years ago, I spent a whole week just eating chanterelles.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31Another handy thing for wearing these at this time of year.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35The place is heaving with ticks. Deer ticks and sheep ticks.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40Young salmon have to get out to sea to become adults.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44Eventually they must return to spawn.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47If they are stopped, the population could be wiped out.
0:26:50 > 0:26:55I'm a passionate freshwater ecologist and I'm also an angler,
0:26:55 > 0:26:59so I can see why they are important because I recognise
0:26:59 > 0:27:04the benefit of having sustainable population of salmon.
0:27:04 > 0:27:08Together with colleagues Lynne and Simon from the Fisheries Board,
0:27:08 > 0:27:11he wants to electronically tag young salmon
0:27:11 > 0:27:15and track their journeys to see if they are making it past the dam.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19No. There you are. Do you want to go and do it?
0:27:22 > 0:27:23It doesn't catch all of the smolts
0:27:23 > 0:27:27but it catches a proportion of them coming down.
0:27:27 > 0:27:28Ready? Ouch.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31- Oh!- I'm pleased that's finished.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34How many have you got there? Half a dozen?
0:27:34 > 0:27:36Half a dozen. There were a few in.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38We are anaesthetising the fish
0:27:38 > 0:27:41so that we minimise the stress on the fish.
0:27:41 > 0:27:45You can tell when the fish is anaesthetised
0:27:45 > 0:27:49when it starts going onto its side...like that.
0:27:49 > 0:27:51There's no anaesthetic in the water?
0:27:51 > 0:27:53It's actually a chemical called benzocaine.
0:27:54 > 0:27:58This is 115mm...
0:27:59 > 0:28:02..and it weighs 14.2g.
0:28:03 > 0:28:09Then a tiny incision there and the PIT tag is carefully inserted,
0:28:09 > 0:28:12and that starts to heal in just a few hours.
0:28:14 > 0:28:18Ultimately, who pays for all of this? It just comes out of the bill?
0:28:18 > 0:28:22Yes. Yes. Everybody pays.
0:28:23 > 0:28:28If we didn't do this sort of work, our regulator can shut us down.
0:28:28 > 0:28:33They can stop us generating if we are not seen to be a prudent operator.
0:28:34 > 0:28:37With hydro producing more electricity than ever,
0:28:37 > 0:28:42and plans for new schemes, it's starting to face fierce opposition.
0:28:42 > 0:28:46Salmon stocks are in a terrible state.
0:28:46 > 0:28:50They've declined by about 40% since 1970 and that's
0:28:50 > 0:28:53because of all the things we've been doing to these rivers,
0:28:53 > 0:28:56taking water out, building dams, you name it.
0:28:56 > 0:28:59We've been throwing everything at these fish. In fact, it's a wonder we have any left.
0:29:01 > 0:29:03If people have come a long way
0:29:03 > 0:29:06and spent a lot of money fishing for a week, and they can spend
0:29:06 > 0:29:09thousands of pounds fishing for a week, and they haven't caught
0:29:09 > 0:29:12anything, they love someone to have a pop at and to blame
0:29:12 > 0:29:14and we are one of the obvious targets.
0:29:14 > 0:29:17I mean, I have been called a liar at meetings.
0:29:17 > 0:29:19That's quite difficult to square with,
0:29:19 > 0:29:22especially if you're running the meeting and taking the minutes.
0:29:24 > 0:29:25The power that we generate
0:29:25 > 0:29:29I don't think is worth it for the impact that you have.
0:29:29 > 0:29:32Really, rivers would be best left as nature intended them.
0:29:34 > 0:29:36It's my job just to suck it up
0:29:36 > 0:29:39and get on with the work that we're meant to be doing.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43- So you're going to put those back? - Do you want to let those...?
0:29:43 > 0:29:47My hope for the salmon that we tag today is that they make
0:29:47 > 0:29:51it to the sea, the North Atlantic, and a higher percentage of them
0:29:51 > 0:29:54return than have done over the last few years.
0:30:08 > 0:30:10The controversial Beauly to Denny power line
0:30:10 > 0:30:13is snaking its way down Scotland.
0:30:13 > 0:30:17Built to take green energy onto the grid from many suppliers,
0:30:17 > 0:30:20most of its cables have now been strung.
0:30:21 > 0:30:26Ageing pylons built last century that stand along the same route
0:30:26 > 0:30:27must now be removed.
0:30:32 > 0:30:33Oi! Oi!
0:30:33 > 0:30:35INDISTINCT
0:30:44 > 0:30:47These are the original towers of the Beauly-Denny line,
0:30:47 > 0:30:49so these operated at 132,000 volts.
0:30:49 > 0:30:52Obviously the new line, now up to 400,000 volts,
0:30:52 > 0:30:55so we don't need these towers any more.
0:30:55 > 0:30:56OK, guys, that should do it.
0:30:56 > 0:30:59If you can move away from the tower now, please.
0:30:59 > 0:31:01If you can stand all clear, please.
0:31:01 > 0:31:03- ON RADIO:- 'All yours.'
0:31:03 > 0:31:05Roger that.
0:31:05 > 0:31:07Tower coming down.
0:31:16 > 0:31:20I think there's about 800 or so that have been taken down for
0:31:20 > 0:31:23the old line and about 600 towers in total,
0:31:23 > 0:31:25end to end, with the new lines.
0:31:25 > 0:31:30These towers are probably in the range of about 25m in height.
0:31:30 > 0:31:35The new towers will probably be anything between 45 to 65m.
0:31:39 > 0:31:40Tower coming down.
0:31:45 > 0:31:47How many of these have you cut down then?
0:31:47 > 0:31:49On the whole project, probably about...
0:31:49 > 0:31:52We're looking at probably getting up to 300.
0:31:52 > 0:31:56I was told to come up here in September 2012 for two weeks
0:31:56 > 0:31:57and I'm still here.
0:32:11 > 0:32:13Roger that. Tower coming down.
0:32:17 > 0:32:21- Do you have a hatred for towers?- No. I like them.- Do you?- Yes, I do.
0:32:21 > 0:32:25- What do you like about them? - Just all the steel.
0:32:25 > 0:32:27They just look... They just impress me.
0:32:27 > 0:32:31- What do you think of the new ones then?- They're bigger and better.
0:32:35 > 0:32:38Jo Cummings tried to stop the power line being built
0:32:38 > 0:32:39so close to her village.
0:32:41 > 0:32:44What do you see when you look at these towers, these pylons?
0:32:44 > 0:32:46Industrial monstrosities.
0:32:46 > 0:32:49They are just so much bigger than the previous ones.
0:32:49 > 0:32:50Seven times the overall size.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57There's no strategy for these pylon lines and the wind
0:32:57 > 0:33:02farms or hydro schemes that the other lines
0:33:02 > 0:33:06are going to come in from to join to the Beauly-Denny line.
0:33:06 > 0:33:08We need to stop and think.
0:33:08 > 0:33:12I am not against renewables at all but we need to think far
0:33:12 > 0:33:17more about the devastation that has been caused by their construction.
0:33:18 > 0:33:21People look at them and think they ruin the countryside.
0:33:21 > 0:33:24I don't mind them. I don't mind seeing them.
0:33:24 > 0:33:28Going back to when I was a child and they almost kind of looked like people.
0:33:28 > 0:33:32I appreciate what they are there for. There is no way, for the whole of the transmission network
0:33:32 > 0:33:35throughout the UK, Scotland, whatever...
0:33:35 > 0:33:37You just cannot put this kind of stuff underground.
0:33:37 > 0:33:42That's why they are there. It's the most cost-effective way of doing it.
0:33:42 > 0:33:46People talk about it's Government money. It's not Government money.
0:33:46 > 0:33:51It's our money. We pay for it through our electricity bills.
0:33:51 > 0:33:53Big energy companies, like big corporations,
0:33:53 > 0:33:56they are thinking of their shareholders.
0:33:56 > 0:33:59I think they have got far too much power.
0:33:59 > 0:34:01Good girl. Good girl.
0:34:04 > 0:34:08Britain's largest renewables operator, SSE,
0:34:08 > 0:34:10controls all its sites from here.
0:34:12 > 0:34:16The operations room at company headquarters.
0:34:18 > 0:34:22Here the company can control how much renewable power it sells to the
0:34:22 > 0:34:26National Grid and respond to alarms and faults.
0:34:28 > 0:34:31It's a system that earns the company
0:34:31 > 0:34:33hundreds of millions of pounds a year.
0:34:33 > 0:34:37It's all overseen by ex-trader Martin Pibworth.
0:34:38 > 0:34:40- So what's going on today?- Busy.
0:34:40 > 0:34:41The last 48 hours has been pretty busy.
0:34:41 > 0:34:44The last few days has been particularly wet and windy,
0:34:44 > 0:34:47so we had about 800 megawatts flat most of the day yesterday.
0:34:47 > 0:34:50BEEPING
0:34:50 > 0:34:54That's an alert from National Grid instructing our hydro up I reckon.
0:34:54 > 0:34:56- Is that up? - INDISTINCT
0:34:56 > 0:34:59The reason it's such a vocal alarm is obviously National Grid
0:34:59 > 0:35:03want that energy now. We can't afford to miss that instruction.
0:35:03 > 0:35:07That instruction has been dispatched and that generation's on.
0:35:07 > 0:35:13The control room oversees 46 wind farms and 56 hydroelectric sites
0:35:13 > 0:35:17across the UK and Ireland, receiving hundreds of alarms each day.
0:35:17 > 0:35:20PHONE RINGS
0:35:20 > 0:35:23INDISTINCT
0:35:24 > 0:35:29That's someone trying to order a pizza on an emergency line, I think!
0:35:30 > 0:35:32We've got an alarm there.
0:35:32 > 0:35:34There's three of the turbines, they've gone into alarm state,
0:35:34 > 0:35:36so we'll call the guys out.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41What do you think the public think of the big six?
0:35:41 > 0:35:46I don't think we like being described as part of the big six.
0:35:46 > 0:35:49It's the big five and us is the first point I'd make.
0:35:49 > 0:35:50I'm calling you the big six.
0:35:50 > 0:35:54Right, so if we are accepting that we are included in the big six,
0:35:54 > 0:35:59you can't get away from the press descriptions of us.
0:35:59 > 0:36:02So we hear phrases like fat cats,
0:36:02 > 0:36:05we hear that we are treating people unfairly.
0:36:05 > 0:36:08Polls that suggest that we are less popular than some other
0:36:08 > 0:36:11unpopular members of the business community.
0:36:11 > 0:36:13And obviously, I have to be perfectly honest with you,
0:36:13 > 0:36:15I think that probably hurts quite a few of us
0:36:15 > 0:36:18and, for our staff, it's reasonably upsetting.
0:36:18 > 0:36:23All the public will see is profits, bills and subsidies.
0:36:23 > 0:36:29Certainly the media portrayal of the industry does not feel fair to me.
0:36:29 > 0:36:33I don't necessarily understand them.
0:36:33 > 0:36:36The reason for that subsidy is frankly nothing would have
0:36:36 > 0:36:37got built without it.
0:36:37 > 0:36:41We as a nation want a stable, secure electricity supply
0:36:41 > 0:36:45and therefore, personally, I think it's something that we as a nation
0:36:45 > 0:36:48should be quite prepared to pay for.
0:36:48 > 0:36:50It's not just building renewable sites
0:36:50 > 0:36:54that costs huge amount of money but also continuously maintaining them.
0:36:57 > 0:37:02At Hadyard Hill in Ayrshire, it takes a team of 20 engineers on-site
0:37:02 > 0:37:04every day to keep the blades turning.
0:37:08 > 0:37:12Tony Ryan and apprentice Craig have been called to a faulty turbine.
0:37:14 > 0:37:18- Whose is that?- That's mine. - Why do they call you The Brick?
0:37:18 > 0:37:21Because I'm as subtle as a brick through a window,
0:37:21 > 0:37:24according to the guys, so that's why I get called The Brick.
0:37:24 > 0:37:28I've got nothing... No comment! No comment!
0:37:31 > 0:37:35Inspecting and repairing a complex machine
0:37:35 > 0:37:3970m above the ground means a climb through three tower sections
0:37:39 > 0:37:42and up hundreds of ladder rungs.
0:37:50 > 0:37:54I've been here nearly two years and I've never got used to the climbing.
0:37:56 > 0:38:01It's hard every day, unfortunately. It's good for you, it's healthy,
0:38:01 > 0:38:03but it's the dreaded part of the job, isn't it?
0:38:03 > 0:38:05Eventually they reach the nacelle,
0:38:05 > 0:38:08the main housing for the turbine itself.
0:38:31 > 0:38:35- It's a beautiful spot. - The best part, the sight.
0:38:35 > 0:38:36It's the joys, isn't it?
0:38:36 > 0:38:38Not many people can come to work
0:38:38 > 0:38:41and enjoy the views like this, like, you know.
0:38:41 > 0:38:44Sometimes, on clear days, in different parts of turbines,
0:38:44 > 0:38:48you can see possibly Ireland on a clear day.
0:38:48 > 0:38:50I don't think people would realise that it moves.
0:38:50 > 0:38:54- It rocks.- A bit of sway.- You get a good bit of swaying when it's high winds as well.
0:38:54 > 0:38:56First couple of weeks when you start the job,
0:38:56 > 0:38:58you're sitting in the shower swaying.
0:38:58 > 0:38:59You still feel yourself swaying.
0:38:59 > 0:39:04But a couple of days up the turbines and you get used to it.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11Take a couple of them off us there, mate.
0:39:11 > 0:39:15Tony and Craig suspect this turbine has a faulty gearbox.
0:39:15 > 0:39:18I'm just basically checking the condition of the teeth
0:39:18 > 0:39:21in the gears, making sure there is no cracks, splits,
0:39:21 > 0:39:24bits of rust, spalling, anything like that.
0:39:24 > 0:39:27We're going to just check for any damage.
0:39:27 > 0:39:29Hydraulics on. Go to menu three.
0:39:29 > 0:39:33Found quite a heavy standstill mark.
0:39:33 > 0:39:36A standstill mark is if the turbine had ever faulted
0:39:36 > 0:39:38and it's standing still.
0:39:38 > 0:39:42The gears, obviously with the wind, even though it's stopped,
0:39:42 > 0:39:44will still kind of cut back and forth
0:39:44 > 0:39:47and it causes a lot of pressure on the teeth sometimes.
0:39:47 > 0:39:51And it looks like it's quite a deep one, by the looks of it,
0:39:51 > 0:39:54so I'm just going to stop it, put the isolations in and I'm just
0:39:54 > 0:39:57going to get a look and make sure that it's not forming a crack or anything.
0:39:58 > 0:40:02It costs between £20,000 and £30,000 a year to keep
0:40:02 > 0:40:04one of these turbines running.
0:40:06 > 0:40:09It's estimated that most turbines only produce their maximum
0:40:09 > 0:40:12possible power 30% of the time.
0:40:13 > 0:40:17But with healthy profit margins, it's still worth building more.
0:40:17 > 0:40:22- How many are on this site? - Wind turbines, 52.
0:40:22 > 0:40:25We have 52 turbines here at the moment,
0:40:25 > 0:40:27- but that could change in the future. - Yeah.
0:40:27 > 0:40:29I don't know yet, but who knows how many?
0:40:29 > 0:40:32- Don't know. Don't know. - Who knows?
0:40:35 > 0:40:38The company is currently trying to extend Hadyard Hill
0:40:38 > 0:40:41by building 31 more turbines nearby.
0:40:44 > 0:40:48With the Hadyard Hill extension, we are still...
0:40:48 > 0:40:51We are looking at potentially up to 150 turbines...
0:40:53 > 0:40:56..in a ring around this valley.
0:40:56 > 0:40:59INDISTINCT
0:41:00 > 0:41:03Lala Burchall-Nolan is leading a fight to stop
0:41:03 > 0:41:06the spread of turbines around the valley.
0:41:09 > 0:41:13You're a soggy doggie. Who's a soggy doggie?
0:41:15 > 0:41:18You're not filming my dog towels surely?
0:41:20 > 0:41:25So there are currently six different developments that would
0:41:25 > 0:41:28encircle this village if we allowed it to.
0:41:29 > 0:41:35Giant, giant industrial turbines. There's another development here.
0:41:35 > 0:41:39There's a development here. There's another one here.
0:41:40 > 0:41:42And there's one here.
0:41:43 > 0:41:48The subsidies for building them come out of your electricity bill.
0:41:48 > 0:41:52The vast majority of it is going to these developers,
0:41:52 > 0:41:57who are building enormous, giant industrial scale wind farms.
0:41:57 > 0:42:01So it's win, win, win. You just can't lose in this racket.
0:42:01 > 0:42:03Are you a Nimby?
0:42:03 > 0:42:07Well, I guess I must be because I really don't want
0:42:07 > 0:42:11an industrial scale development in my back yard.
0:42:11 > 0:42:15This isn't just my back yard. This is the nation's back yard.
0:42:15 > 0:42:18I have met a few people that are right against wind turbines
0:42:18 > 0:42:22because they say that it spoils the scenery. And for some reason
0:42:22 > 0:42:26they say they're noisy, but I really don't understand where they're
0:42:26 > 0:42:29coming from in noise because there's next to no noise off them,
0:42:29 > 0:42:31except from the wind that's passing through them,
0:42:31 > 0:42:33which is already making a noise anyway.
0:42:36 > 0:42:37They are noisy.
0:42:37 > 0:42:40People who tell you that they're not have never been close to them.
0:42:40 > 0:42:43They sound a little bit like a slower
0:42:43 > 0:42:45version of a helicopter blade.
0:42:48 > 0:42:52Would they rather a big power station pumping toxic stuff
0:42:52 > 0:42:56out into the air rather than something that's environmentally
0:42:56 > 0:43:00friendly creating the power that they need in their homes?
0:43:00 > 0:43:04I think we've got to really define what we mean by green.
0:43:04 > 0:43:10Having to build new access roads, and if they are de-felling,
0:43:10 > 0:43:13deforesting, which they do have to,
0:43:13 > 0:43:15they are not as green as people would have you believe.
0:43:15 > 0:43:18And when there is no countryside left
0:43:18 > 0:43:21and there is no beauty left, what then?
0:43:22 > 0:43:26And my question to the 3,000 people whose homes are going to be
0:43:26 > 0:43:32powered by 17 of these turbines is, "Put them next to your house then."
0:43:32 > 0:43:33Truthfully.
0:43:36 > 0:43:39It's three months since ecologist Alastair Stephen
0:43:39 > 0:43:41tagged some young salmon.
0:43:41 > 0:43:44He's about to find out just how many are making it out to sea.
0:43:45 > 0:43:47Salmon need to get out.
0:43:47 > 0:43:49They need to get down the river to be able to feed
0:43:49 > 0:43:51and come back as adults.
0:43:51 > 0:43:54Ultimately, do they get out of our dam?
0:43:54 > 0:43:58And if they don't then that's a real problem for us.
0:43:58 > 0:44:02The fish pass in the dam was fitted with a decoder to detect any
0:44:02 > 0:44:05tagged salmon passing through.
0:44:05 > 0:44:10At the back end of it, we have a contraption which is an antenna,
0:44:10 > 0:44:13which is designed to pick up the PIT-tagged fish
0:44:13 > 0:44:16as they drop through.
0:44:16 > 0:44:19We are hoping that quite a high percentage do find their way out,
0:44:19 > 0:44:21otherwise their survival will be impacted.
0:44:23 > 0:44:29In the dam's control room, colleague Simon is accessing the data.
0:44:31 > 0:44:35But it's not the news they were hoping for.
0:44:35 > 0:44:38So over the summer there have been very, very few.
0:44:38 > 0:44:41So most of the smolts coming down came down within just a few
0:44:41 > 0:44:43days of being tagged in the spring.
0:44:45 > 0:44:50About 30% of the tagged smolts this spring made it out of the dam,
0:44:50 > 0:44:52so there is clearly an issue here.
0:44:52 > 0:44:55You certainly wouldn't expect 70% loss
0:44:55 > 0:44:58over that length of river system.
0:44:58 > 0:45:01The fact that we're only finding 30% finding their way out is
0:45:01 > 0:45:06a bit disappointing and...we were hoping for more.
0:45:06 > 0:45:08And we need to do some more work.
0:45:12 > 0:45:15Right, if you can stand all clear, please.
0:45:16 > 0:45:21The work to remove old pylons along the Beauly to Denny line continues.
0:45:21 > 0:45:23- ON RADIO:- 'Lovely.'
0:45:24 > 0:45:27These unwanted towers lie between mountains
0:45:27 > 0:45:30deep in the Cairngorms National Park.
0:45:31 > 0:45:34It means there's only one way to get them out.
0:45:37 > 0:45:39After this tower has now been felled,
0:45:39 > 0:45:42we will cut it up into four sections,
0:45:42 > 0:45:44a helicopter will come and fly it over to a place
0:45:44 > 0:45:46where it will be cut up.
0:45:46 > 0:45:50It's a job coordinated once again by Andy "Chopper" Simpson.
0:45:52 > 0:45:55There's a lot of skill involved in what he's doing.
0:46:00 > 0:46:04Guided by "Chopper", the steelwork is flown over the mountains to
0:46:04 > 0:46:07be dropped at an access track nearer civilisation.
0:46:09 > 0:46:11INDISTINCT ON RADIO
0:46:23 > 0:46:26He'll be coming right over the top here. You'll be able to see him.
0:46:30 > 0:46:31Standing by.
0:46:36 > 0:46:38INDISTINCT
0:46:38 > 0:46:39All good.
0:46:40 > 0:46:46There's around 140 tonnes of steel to be moved in this area alone.
0:46:50 > 0:46:51RADIO BEEPS
0:46:52 > 0:46:54Standing by.
0:47:02 > 0:47:04What did you want to be when you were a kid?
0:47:04 > 0:47:08I wanted to be a helicopter pilot - I've not quite made it that far!
0:47:25 > 0:47:28There's worse ways to earn a living.
0:47:34 > 0:47:38Ecologist Alastair Stephen has discovered young salmon are not
0:47:38 > 0:47:42finding their way out to sea due to a badly designed fish pass.
0:47:43 > 0:47:48- The midges are out.- Yeah. It's May. - I know.
0:47:50 > 0:47:53He's decided to take matters into his own hands.
0:47:54 > 0:47:58What we're doing is catching the fish here, because they can't find
0:47:58 > 0:48:01their way out further down, and we transport them
0:48:01 > 0:48:05downstream physically in a truck to bypass this
0:48:05 > 0:48:08bit that they can't find their way out of.
0:48:08 > 0:48:12- You're basically a fish taxi service.- We are a fish taxi service.
0:48:12 > 0:48:16So we pour them into the transport tank.
0:48:23 > 0:48:25This minnow cab service transports
0:48:25 > 0:48:29the fish on a 20-mile road trip past stretches of river where
0:48:29 > 0:48:32Alastair believes the salmon are getting trapped.
0:48:35 > 0:48:37How did you get interested in fish?
0:48:37 > 0:48:39HE LAUGHS
0:48:39 > 0:48:43I've always thought, when I've driven past a river or a loch,
0:48:43 > 0:48:45"I wonder what's in it."
0:48:45 > 0:48:48I do have interests in other things but fish do fascinate me.
0:48:48 > 0:48:52These things that have got a brain not much bigger
0:48:52 > 0:48:55than your thumbnail can navigate across the Atlantic
0:48:55 > 0:49:00and come back to the very river where they were spawned.
0:49:00 > 0:49:04And they've been doing this since the Ice Age and it would be nice
0:49:04 > 0:49:08to make sure that they're still being able to do that
0:49:08 > 0:49:10when I'm no longer here.
0:49:12 > 0:49:14'It would be lovely to see a return to the
0:49:14 > 0:49:19'populations of fish that we had in our rivers in the 1960s and 1970s.'
0:49:19 > 0:49:23The release site for the smolts is, as always,
0:49:23 > 0:49:27downstream of the lowest dam on the system, so there's nothing
0:49:27 > 0:49:30to impede the fish heading all the way to the sea from here.
0:49:30 > 0:49:33It's only 5km to the sea from here.
0:49:33 > 0:49:34This is a one-off.
0:49:40 > 0:49:44Those fish could be, within the next couple of days, hitting the sea.
0:49:46 > 0:49:50Modifying the dam is the only long-term solution
0:49:50 > 0:49:54but that's costly, so, for the foreseeable future,
0:49:54 > 0:49:59Alastair will help Simon transport up to 12,000 fish a year by road.
0:50:03 > 0:50:07I don't think the public understand that we could end up with not
0:50:07 > 0:50:11enough energy to supply everybody's needs.
0:50:11 > 0:50:16There's coal fire power stations coming off-line for various reasons.
0:50:16 > 0:50:20There's nuclear, it's coming to the end of its life.
0:50:20 > 0:50:22Basically, if we don't generate enough,
0:50:22 > 0:50:26especially at certain times of year, the lights will go out.
0:50:26 > 0:50:31Renewable energy is not the perfect solution,
0:50:31 > 0:50:33it is part of the solution,
0:50:33 > 0:50:38as is probably nuclear, probably gas,
0:50:38 > 0:50:43and probably still some coal.
0:50:43 > 0:50:45We need it all.
0:50:50 > 0:50:54The Beauly to Denny Project is on the brink of completion.
0:50:54 > 0:50:57Only one major task remains.
0:51:01 > 0:51:04This is the last tower to be completed
0:51:04 > 0:51:09on the Beauly-Denny Project. Once this is finished, that's it.
0:51:09 > 0:51:12We've been putting up towers for close on four years now.
0:51:12 > 0:51:19This will be the 600th pylon built across 137 miles of wilderness.
0:51:19 > 0:51:24In total, the line has used 22,000 tonnes of steel
0:51:24 > 0:51:30and nearly 1,000 miles of cable, all for green renewable energy.
0:51:30 > 0:51:32- How does it feel?- Marvellous.
0:51:32 > 0:51:35Because it's a milestone for the last tower to go
0:51:35 > 0:51:38up on the Beauly-Denny line and it's a big achievement.
0:51:38 > 0:51:43Erecting this final tower is a crack team from the Philippines.
0:51:43 > 0:51:45Good morning!
0:51:47 > 0:51:53MUSIC: Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke
0:51:55 > 0:51:57Come on, boys.
0:51:57 > 0:52:00LAUGHTER
0:52:00 > 0:52:03Right, boys, we're here today. This is the last tower.
0:52:03 > 0:52:07- How do you feel about it? Happy? Sad?- Happy.
0:52:07 > 0:52:09You don't look very happy.
0:52:09 > 0:52:11LAUGHTER
0:52:14 > 0:52:19These specialists travel the world building giant power lines.
0:52:19 > 0:52:24They've completed schemes in the Middle East, Australia and Asia,
0:52:24 > 0:52:28but this has been one of the longest routes they've attempted.
0:52:29 > 0:52:31How long have you been in Britain?
0:52:35 > 0:52:38What was the first thing you noticed when you came to Scotland?
0:52:58 > 0:53:01How do you live? All together or...?
0:53:06 > 0:53:08And you have family back home?
0:53:23 > 0:53:26The team build the tower from the ground up.
0:53:28 > 0:53:30Each section is lifted
0:53:30 > 0:53:33and then lowered as they guide it into position.
0:53:33 > 0:53:34They bolt it together
0:53:34 > 0:53:38and then scramble higher again to receive the next section.
0:53:40 > 0:53:44Working this way, they can get a whole pylon built in just a day.
0:53:46 > 0:53:48It's always impressive, do you know what I mean?
0:53:48 > 0:53:51To see these guys working and the way they all work together as well.
0:53:51 > 0:53:53Every tower is impressive.
0:53:59 > 0:54:01Is it a bit different
0:54:01 > 0:54:03when you're looking down than when you're looking up?
0:54:03 > 0:54:06The guys will just kind of keep going up and keep going up.
0:54:06 > 0:54:09I think this is about just shy of 50m, this one,
0:54:09 > 0:54:11so these guys will be about 45m
0:54:11 > 0:54:14up by the time they actually land the top section.
0:54:19 > 0:54:21I don't mind heights - it's the falling!
0:54:45 > 0:54:48This is quite a difficult lift this, for this section.
0:54:48 > 0:54:52It's actually the landing of the actual tower itself.
0:54:52 > 0:54:55It's just like a big Meccano set, joining it all together,
0:54:55 > 0:54:56but this is the most difficult part.
0:54:56 > 0:54:58INDISTINCT
0:55:02 > 0:55:05The final tower will officially be complete
0:55:05 > 0:55:09when the crane hook, 55m up, is released by the climbers.
0:55:17 > 0:55:20APPLAUSE
0:55:21 > 0:55:24- Good.- Feeling good.- Finished.
0:55:26 > 0:55:28Last tower on Beauly-Denny completed.
0:55:31 > 0:55:34Delighted. It's an achievement.
0:55:34 > 0:55:35How are you feeling?
0:55:41 > 0:55:44I'd just like to say, on behalf of SSE, thanks, everybody.
0:55:44 > 0:55:47That's the last tower gone up on the Beauly-Denny line.
0:55:47 > 0:55:50Well done, everybody. OK. Thank you.
0:55:50 > 0:55:51APPLAUSE
0:55:51 > 0:55:53Lads, well done for what you've done.
0:55:53 > 0:55:55The effort - absolutely amazing. All right?
0:55:55 > 0:55:57I can't thank you enough, what you've done.
0:55:57 > 0:55:59LAUGHTER
0:55:59 > 0:56:01OK.
0:56:20 > 0:56:25I'm counting now. I can see one, two, three, four, five,
0:56:25 > 0:56:30goes behind the trees, six, seven, eight.
0:56:30 > 0:56:33This has been done in a frantic rush to try
0:56:33 > 0:56:35and justify political targets
0:56:35 > 0:56:38without it being properly thought through.
0:56:38 > 0:56:40If we're going to have wind farms dotting up all over
0:56:40 > 0:56:43the Highlands, we've got to get the electricity away,
0:56:43 > 0:56:47therefore the sensible thing is to bash on and get it done.
0:56:49 > 0:56:52The Beauly to Denny line may be complete,
0:56:52 > 0:56:57but there are now plans for five new wind farms near Sir John's home.
0:56:58 > 0:57:01It was always going to be the case that endless wind farm
0:57:01 > 0:57:06applications would pop up to plug into that pylon line.
0:57:06 > 0:57:09And the closer they were to the line, the better it was going to
0:57:09 > 0:57:13be for the developer and for Scottish and Southern Energy.
0:57:13 > 0:57:16You know, if an intelligent Martian were to land here
0:57:16 > 0:57:20and say, "How have you planned your energy requirements?"
0:57:20 > 0:57:25I think they would be speechless to discover that, for decades,
0:57:25 > 0:57:29we did nothing about renewing our nuclear facility.
0:57:29 > 0:57:31It is seen to be politically
0:57:31 > 0:57:36unacceptable or unpopular to tell people to use less energy
0:57:36 > 0:57:40and instead we just plough on producing more
0:57:40 > 0:57:46and more energy at any cost to any thing.
0:58:25 > 0:58:28'Try putting together your own power grid with the Open University's
0:58:28 > 0:58:31'Power My Postcode interactive tool.
0:58:31 > 0:58:34'Go to...
0:58:34 > 0:58:36'and follow the links.'