Drax Invites EOIs for Cooperation in Scottish Hydro Station

In order to collaborate on a new hydro project, including tunneling, in Scotland, energy producer Drax Power is inviting the enthusiast.

Locating in Ben Cruachan (Argyll’s highest mountain), the new 600MW pumped storage hydro station will more than double the capacity of the existing facility to 1.04GW.

The determined date for commencing operation of this new plant is 2030 and it is going to act like a giant water battery, while the reversible turbines are due to be used by it to pump water from Loch Awe to the upper reservoir on the mountainside to store excess power from wind farms and other low carbon technologies when supply outstrips demand and then use the stored water to generate renewable power when it is needed.

The construction process of a new intake structure within an operational upper reservoir linked via new hydraulic tunnel systems to the powerhouse complex dug in quartz dolerite rock 400m beneath ground level, is a content of this work.

Including reversible pump turbines, motor-generators, and associated equipment such as transformers and switchgear, this powerhouse is due to be a series of underground caverns. A new tailrace tunnel will be stretched from the powerhouse to a new outfall structure in an existing lower reservoir, while a vertical ventilation shaft from the powerhouse will connect to an expanded existing above-ground sub-station complex.

Along with the connection of a new 1.45km main access tunnel with the powerhouse to a new jetty constructed along the lower reservoir, the diversion of a trunk road will be required for forming the main access tunnel portal.

The construction spoil will be taken out through the mountain to the jetty and stored prior to off-site removal. The new administration and workshop buildings will be built on the jetty. Existing access roads will be upgraded together with the construction of new roads as required.

The scheduled time for releasing the contract notice is October and construction will begin in Q4 2025.

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