Drax Group is progressing an £80 million upgrade and refurbishment programme at its Cruachan pumped storage hydro power station in Scotland, reinforcing the role of flexible generation within its wider UK energy portfolio.
Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney visited the Cruachan facility near Oban in Argyll as work continues on the project. The programme includes the refurbishment of two generating units and the replacement of all four of the power station’s main inlet water valves. The works are expected to increase Cruachan’s generating capacity while renewing important infrastructure at a plant that has been operating since 1965.
The investment represents a significant programme of asset renewal at an established power station rather than the construction of an entirely new facility. That distinction is relevant to the risk profile of the project, with Drax investing in existing infrastructure that already has an operational role within the electricity system. Refurbishing generating equipment and replacing key water control components should support the plant’s ability to continue providing flexible generation as the electricity mix changes.
Cruachan operates as a pumped storage hydro facility. Water held in an upper reservoir can be released through turbines into Loch Awe below to generate electricity. When excess electricity is available on the grid, the process can be reversed, using power to pump water back to the upper reservoir for later use. This allows the station to function as a large-scale energy storage asset, shifting electricity from periods of lower demand to periods when additional generation is required.
Wind and solar output can vary according to weather conditions, creating a requirement for assets that can respond when supply and demand move out of balance. Cruachan’s ability to both store and generate electricity positions the station within this flexible part of the market and supports Drax’s stated objective of building its position in flexible, renewable generation.
Drax Group plc (LON:DRX), trading as Drax, is a power generation business. The principal downstream enterprises are based in the UK and include Drax Power Limited, which runs the biomass fuelled Drax power station, near Selby in North Yorkshire.
