Development consent granted for 600MW underground pumped hydro plant in Scotland

By George Heynes
July 31, 2023
LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email

Power generation company Drax Group has secured development consent for a 600MW underground pumped storage hydro (PSH) plant in Scotland, UK.

The project will be located at the aptly named ‘Hollow Mountain’ Cruachan Power Station in Argyll and include an expansion of the site to include the new £500 million (US$642.45 million) underground plant. This would bring the overall capacity of the site to over 1GW.

Recognising the potential of the project, which could be operational by 2030, the Scottish government formally approved the plans earlier this week. The expansion will also require an updated financial stabilisation mechanism from the UK government.

The new 600MW plant at Cruachan is part of a wider £7 billion strategic investment plan by Drax in clean energy technologies between 2024 and 2030.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Enjoy 12 months of exclusive analysis

Not ready to commit yet?
  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Annual digital subscription to the PV Tech Power journal
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

Drax has highlighted that there is a lack of an existing government framework to support long-duration electricity storage and flexibility technologies. This means private investment cannot be secured for new pumped storage hydro projects, with no new plants having been built in the UK since Dinorwig in North Wales in 1984.

A final investment decision on the expansion of Cruachan remains dependent on the creation of such a framework.

This had been highlighted by Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf who called on the government during a tour of the Cruachan facility on 25 July to “provide an appropriate market mechanism” for projects like this.

To read the full version of this story visit Solar Power Portal.

Read Next

October 17, 2025
The New South Wales Independent Planning Commission has approved Ark Energy’s 3,148MWh Richmond Valley solar-plus-storage project in Australia.
Premium
October 16, 2025
How you approach fire safety risk management in BESS was a big talking point yesterday at the Battery Asset Management Summit UK & Ireland 2025.
October 16, 2025
Octopus Australia has acquired the Coleambally battery energy storage system (BESS), a 100MW/400MWh standalone project in development located in southern New South Wales.
October 15, 2025
The value of developers and optimisers in the BESS lifecycle, thinking about long-term risk and KPIs for maximising the asset have been key themes at the Battery Asset Management Summit UK & Ireland 2025.
October 15, 2025
Takeaways from the first day of Energy Storage Summit Latin America 2025, including the Chilean and Argentinian markets.

Most Popular

Email Newsletter