Cruachan is one of only four pumped storage hydro stations in the UK

The plans will see us invest c.£500m to more than double the Cruachan’s generating capacity to over 1 gigawatt (GW) of power that will not only support the UK’s renewable targets by enabling more wind and solar to connect onto the grid, but also deliver cumulative savings of more than £350 million to consumers as the grid continues to decarbonise. The construction and operation of the Cruachan expansion will also directly create over 300 jobs over the five-to-six year construction period and support a total of nearly 900 jobs across the widely supply chain in Scotland.

“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. 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.”— Will Gardiner, CEO, Drax, June 2021

Drax are aiming to have the Cruachan expansion operational as soon as 2030, but that will rely on the right policies and commitments from the Scottish Government to instil investor confidence in this infrastructure project.

Drax plays a critical role in supporting UK energy security, providing more renewable power for the country than the next two generations combined.