Cruachan power station expansion project plans in Scotland, UK, have been availed by Drax, the world’s largest renewable energy company, and owner of the iconic ‘Hollow Mountain’ power station. The underground facility will be expanded as part of the major infrastructure plan to build a second power plant that will also serve as a massive water battery, storing electricity generated by wind farms.
This important initiative will entail excavating approximately 2 million tonnes of rock from inside Argyll’s highest mountain, Ben Cruachan, to establish a cavern and tunnels for the Cruachan 2 power station, which would be located to the east of the original hydro plant. This will add 600 MW of power capacity to the site, more than doubling its maximum output to more than 1GW.
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The facility will be housed in a new, hollowed-out cavern big enough to house Big Ben on its side. If the scheme is approved, it will be the first new plant of its kind built in the UK in more than 40 years, providing critical storage capacity to strengthen the UK’s energy security and enable net zero. Subject to planning, Drax stated that work could begin in 2024, supporting approximately 150 on-site local construction jobs over a six-year period.
The new plant, which will function as a giant water battery, could be operational by 2030, providing critical stability services to the power system. It will use reversible turbines 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 exceeds demand, and then use this stored water to produce renewable energy when needed.
Through storage and flexibility services, a new generation of pumped storage hydro plants can play an important role in cutting emissions and greatly reducing the UK’s dependency on imported gas. When supply exceeds demand or there is insufficient capacity on the National Grid Transmission System due to a lack of energy storage, wind farms are routinely paid to shut down.
Cruachan power station to help boost renewable energy in the UK
Because of this, enough wind power to power approximately a million homes will be wasted by 2020. “Drax’s intend to increase Cruachan will help bolster the UK’s energy security by empowering more homegrown renewable electricity to come online to power homes and businesses across the country, seeking to end our reliance on imports and cut costs,” said Ian Kinnaird, Drax’s Scottish Assets Director.
” Only by investing in long-duration storage technologies will the UK be able to realize its full renewable ability, and Drax is ready to move mountains to do so.” To deploy this critical technology, Drax must obtain consent from the Scottish Government under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 – a process that will take approximately one year from the time the application is submitted.
A successful Section 36 application will necessitate an updated policy and market support mechanism from the UK Government. Due to the current lack of a framework for long-duration electricity storage and flexible technologies, private investment in new pumped storage hydro projects cannot currently be sealed, with no new facilities constructed anywhere in the region since 1984, despite their significant contribution to decarbonisation.
