One of Scotland’s best known lighthouses is in line for a solar panel array to enable the lamp to be solar-powered by 2021.
The Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) has submitted plans to Highland Council for a 63 panel array as part of a power system upgrade, allowing the station to be converted from a diesel-powered cycle-charged light to solar-powered in two years.
The array is proposed to be located a concrete base inside the station boundary to the east of the accommodation block.
NLB’s proposals include a complete overhaul of the lighthouse cottage’s five bedrooms , dining room, toilet/shower room and kitchen.
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NLB wants to replace all the wall linings with moisture-resistant material, and install a heating system to maintain the condition of the building.
Cape Wrath lighthouse was built by Robert Stevenson in 1828 and is on the most north-westerly tip of the Scottish mainland.
The lighthouse and its cottages are Grade A listed buildings, with the lighthouse now monitored from Northern Lighthouse Board’s offices in Edinburgh since becoming automatic in 1998.
In 1978 the paraffin vapour burner was replaced by mercury vapour lamps, and in 1980 a completely new gearless pedestal and lamp array system was installed.
The 30ft lighthouse tower is largely unchanged, and requires a trudge of 81 steps to get to the top.