SSE Renewables has announced plans to invest £50 million repowering the Tummel Bridge hydro plant in the Scottish highlands over the next two years.
The company said the refurbishment programme, which is due to begin in spring 2022, will extend the facility’s operational life by at least 40 years.
The project will see the replacement of two “Camel Back” twin-runner, horizontal Francis turbines with new modern turbines, increasing the water flow and raising the power output of the plant from 34MW to 38MW, and 40MW in optimum conditions.
The Tummel Bridge plant was commissioned in 1933, making it one of the hydro power stations in Scotland, and is housed within a Category A listed building. It is located at the centre of a cascade of hydro power stations in the Tummel Valley, feeding water down to the Clunie and Pitlochry plants.
SSE Renewables said it is the largest single investment it has made in the refurbishment of its hydro fleet in recent times. The work is expected to be completed in late 2023.
“Hydro power is Scotland’s original source of renewable energy and one which has an increasingly vital role to play in our path to achieving net zero carbon emissions in Scotland by 2045 and the UK by 2050,” said Peter Diver, head of hydro operations at SSE Renewables.
“By replacing the existing turbines at Tummel Bridge with modern, efficient plant, we will be able to safely extend the operational life of the station by at least 40 years, meaning Tummel Bridge will be part of our future net-zero power system.
“By repowering the existing turbines with latest hydro technology, we are able to make best use of the available water flow and head at the station to increase generation output and maintain our capability to reliably manage water flows through the Tummel cascade.
“And we are transforming power output at the site in a way that takes regard of the age and construction of the Category A listed building in which the power station is housed – a vital consideration for SSE Renewables in our role as custodian of this important and historic engineering site in the Scottish Highlands.”
Claire Mack, chief executive of Scottish Renewables, said: “A mix of renewable energy technologies will be needed if we are to meet our climate change targets, as well as smart systems to manage the way power is generated, transported and used.
“Hydro, which provides almost a fifth of Scotland’s clean electricity, is an increasingly important part of that energy mix, providing as it does the flexibility to generate when power is most needed.
“Further investment in pumped storage hydropower – in which Scotland could lead the UK – and the refurbishment of existing plants like Tummel Bridge mean a more certain route to net zero carbon emissions by our 2045 target, as well as significant benefits to local supply chain companies and communities.”
SSE Renewables is planning to build a 1.5GW pumped hydro storage facility at Coire Glas in Scotland with a storage capacity of 30GWh.