Drax has begun exploratory works for the expansion of its Cruachan pumped hydro storage facility in Scotland.
The company is planning to build a 600MW plant – the first new pumped hydro storage power station in Britain in almost four decades – alongside the existing 440MW facility.
It has now started preliminary works whilst it awaits consent from the Scottish government, drilling a 70-metre-deep borehole to recover rock samples which will be analysed in a lab to determine the geological stability of the site.
The company is also seeking a new support mechanism for pumped hydro storage from the UK government. It is aiming to bring the plant online in 2030 following a six-year period construction and expects to invest around £500 million in the project.
Ian Kinnaird, Drax’s Scottish assets director, said: “This is a significant moment in the expansion of Cruachan. The project team has been working extremely hard to move the development forward, and the start of ground investigation works is the next phase in delivering this vitally important new plant.
“The scale of the proposed development matches Drax’s ambitions when it comes to tackling the climate crisis. More than 2 million tonnes of rock will be excavated to create a new cavern inside the mountain which will be big enough to house Big Ben on its side.
“Expanding Cruachan will strengthen the UK’s energy security by enabling more homegrown renewable electricity to come online to power homes and businesses across the country.”