KINLOCHLEVEN HYDRO POWER STATION

That this House congratulates SIMEC, the international energy, infrastructure and natural resources business, on its announcement that its Kinlochleven hydro power station has increased its output, delivering a step-up in clean energy to power Scottish homes and industry; notes that the early achievement of a 20 per cent output increase is commendable at a time when climate challenge presents real problems to the global community; acknowledges that this increase is part of a wider planned upgrade to the hydro station, which will see overall capacity rise by up to 40 per cent towards the end of the year; further notes that SIMEC is the first power generation businesses to commit to new investment following a recent amendment to the Renewables Obligation Order by the Scottish Government; and further acknowledges that the amended legislation paved the way for the Kinlochleven plant to produce more than the 19.5 MW of power for which it is accredited at no extra cost to the consumer.