Drax’s Cruachan Power Station - Investing in Scotland’s Net Zero future
By Sarah Cameron, Scotland Community Manager at Drax
Scotland is uniquely positioned to take full advantage of the shift to cleaner, greener, renewable power, with its abundance of natural resources.
Affectionately known as ‘The Hollow Mountain’, Drax’s Cruachan Power Station sits on the northern shores of Loch Awe in Argyll and Bute, one of the wettest areas in Europe. This is one of few locations in the UK that’s ideal for pumped storage hydro (PSH) technology, allowing us to support the UK’s energy needs when required.
Being one of only four PSH stations in the UK, our Cruachan facility is an essential component in providing flexible, dispatchable renewable power when the wind doesn’t blow, or sun doesn’t shine. Sites like Cruachan act like giant water batteries, using excess power from the grid to pump water to an upper reservoir where it’s stored, before re-releasing it to generate electricity to meet demand.
At Drax we’re progressing plans to build a second underground PSH plant at Cruachan, to more than double the site’s generating capacity to over 1 gigawatt – enough to power two million homes. Not only will this enable more wind and solar power to connect to the grid, but the local area will also feel the benefit through jobs and investment. During construction, we’ll support over 150 jobs across the region and boost the local economy by £73m GVA.
It’s important to us that we work with the communities near our operations, and with a project of this scale, it’s more crucial than ever that we continue to build connections and invest in these areas. I’m proud of the work we do in the areas local to Cruachan, and across Scotland, and of the relationships and partnerships we’ve been able to build.
Since launching the Drax Foundation, our charitable entity, last year, we’ve donated almost £200k to non-profit organisations to support STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths), nature and energy efficiency projects across Scotland, as well as grassroots programmes through our Community Fund. One organisation benefitted by this is ACT (Argyll & the Isles Coast and Countryside Trust), in which our £67k grant funding has so far helped 750 children have access to outdoor, nature-based learning.
’I’m excited to continue building partnerships for a Net Zero future and look forward to what the Cruachan expansion project will bring.’ said Sarah Cameron, Scotland Community Manager at Drax.
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