Drax has announced plans to expand the capacity of its Cruachan pumped hydro storage plant in Scotland to more than 1GW.
The company wants to build a new 600MW power station in a hollowed-out cavern to the east of the existing 440MW plant inside the Ben Cruachan mountain. Both would be fed by the existing upper reservoir, which has the capacity to hold 2.4 billion gallons of water.
“This is an exciting and important project which underlines Drax’s commitment to tackling the climate crisis and supporting the energy system as it continues to decarbonise,” said Drax Group chief executive Will Gardiner.
“Our plans to expand Cruachan will unlock more renewable electricity to power homes and businesses across the country, and support hundreds of new jobs in rural Scotland.
“Last year, the UK’s lack of energy storage capacity meant wind farms had to be paid to turn off and we lost out on enough renewable power to supply a million homes. We need to stop renewable power from going to waste by storing it and Drax is ready to move mountains to do just that.”
Under sector 36 of the Electricity Act 1989, Drax will need to secure planning permission to build the new power station from Scottish ministers – a process which takes around one year to complete. It expects to submit an application in early 2022 and said construction work could begin in 2024.
The company said it will also need an updated policy and market support mechanism from the UK government, adding: “The existing lack of a framework for large-scale, long-duration storage and flexibility technologies means that private investment cannot currently be secured in new pumped storage hydro projects, with no new plants built anywhere in the UK since 1984 despite their critical role in decarbonisation.”
Jenni Minto, MSP for Argyll and Bute, said: “Investment in new pumped storage hydro capacity could greatly enhance the flexibility and resilience of the electricity network and help us move towards meeting our ambitious global climate change targets.
“In the run-up to COP26 in Glasgow, it’s more vital than ever that we come up with innovative solutions to the climate emergency and ensure that future generations to reap the rewards of Scotland’s vast renewable potential.”
Cruachan became the first power station to begin providing new a stability service that includes inertia to National Grid Electricity System Operator in July 2020.