On a visit to mark a major milestone in the development of Scottish and Southern Energy's (SSE's) £150m hydro electric scheme at Glendoe, the First Minister today reinforced the Scottish Government's commitment to renewable energy.

The 100 MW Glendoe development is Scotland's first conventional large scale hydro electric power station for 50 years. The First Minister was at the site to mark the plugging of the Glendoe dam, which is an important step in the scheme's development.

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The project is on schedule and is due to be supplying electricity into the grid in early 2009.

First Minister Alex Salmond said: "Scottish and Southern Energy's Glendoe scheme is the first large-scale hydro electric station to be built in Scotland for 50 years. This is one of the projects which will ensure Scotland's long tradition of generating hydro power continues for many years to come.

"I am delighted to be involved in marking this major milestone in this ambitious project, which will utilise Scotland's natural resources for the creation of clean renewable energy."

The Scottish Government has set an ambitious target to generate 50% of the country's electricity demand from renewable sources by 2020.

The total renewables capacity installed, consented and under construction in Scotland is now over 4.5 GW - thats 500 MW short of the Government's 5 GW target by 2011.

(GK/JM)