Drax is investing £15.4 million to refurbish the Glenlee Power Station in Dumfries and Galloway, part of its Galloway Hydro Scheme. Built in the 1930s, the station houses two 12 MW generating units fed by the Clatteringshaws Reservoir. This upgrade will modernise both turbines and extend the station’s useful life well into the next decade.
The decision to proceed is underpinned by a new 15-year capacity market agreement worth around £20 million. That contract effectively secures Glenlee’s role in the UK power system through to 2039 while locking in a steady revenue stream to support the investment.
While the 24 MW output is small compared with Drax’s wider portfolio, the upgrade aligns with its strategy to maintain a fleet of flexible, low-carbon generators. Hydro is one of the few renewables capable of delivering consistent output and immediate system response, making it valuable as the grid becomes more reliant on intermittent sources.
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.
