Profits made by selling bulk electricity to the Scottish lowlands would be used to fund "the economic development and social improvement of the North of Scotland."

The deputy chairman and chief executive was Edward MacColl, an engineer with wide experience of hydro-electric projects and electrical distribution networks.

[9] The Lochalsh scheme would be built at Nostie Bridge, where the A87 road crosses the Allt Gleann Udalain, just to the west of the hamlet,[10] by the engineers Sir William Halcrow and Partners.

As an interim measure, a diesel generator was used to supply the area, which also provided power to a local network in the south-east of the Isle of Skye, connected to it by a submarine cable.

Shearer visited the site, and noted that all of the buildings in the area were built of local stone, in a style which he called cottage architecture.

He asked Shearer to produce a list of sources for the material, and to find contractors who could muster enough quarrymen and masons to ensure the success of the idea.

[13] The reservoir is known as Lochalsh Dam, covers an area of 30 acres (12 ha), and its surface level is 502 feet (153 m) above ordnance datum (AOD).

[22] The outflow from the station rejoins the river a short distance to the south-east, which flows over a weir and is crossed by a bridge carrying the road through Nostie.

[25] The bridge forms the highest point to which tides flow, and the river then enters Nostie Bay and Loch Alsh.

[22] In 1955, there was a severe drought in the Highlands, and water levels in Lochalsh Dam dropped sufficiently that reductions in the amount of power produced seemed likely.

In order to resolve the problem, workers constructed nearly 1 mile (1.6 km) of channel to enable water from Loch na Smeòraich to supplement the supply in Lochalsh Dam.

The machine was fitted with manual spear valves, which were adjusted during the commissioning phase to ensure that the regulatory compensation flow would be released whatever the level of the reservoir.