Dr Peter Hughes, Chief Executive of Scottish Engineering said: "Scottish Engineering welcomes the decision by the Scottish Government to go ahead with the Beauly to Denny distribution line. Not only is it a key element of the country's electrical distribution system but it will also create a much needed boost to the manufacturing engineering sector in these difficult times.

"Without this new system in place there would be little hope of Scotland benefiting from the wind and wave power that is currently being developed in the north of the country by Scottish Power and Scottish and Southern Energy as well as a number of other smaller companies.

"This crucial project is long overdue and we hope that the next phase will now be able to move ahead without any further delays."