The underground plant is one of just four pumped storage hydro power stations in the whole of the UK – playing a critical role in stabilising the national grid.
Since its opening by Queen Elizabeth II on 15 October 1965, Cruachan Power Station has powered homes and businesses across Scotland. Cruachan stores excess power from the grid and then generates it back into the system when it is needed like a giant water battery.
Thousands of people participated in the construction of the power station. Those who took part in the drilling, blasting, and clearing of rocks from inside the mountain earned the affectionate nickname of ‘Tunnel Tigers.’ Since its completion, generations of schoolchildren have ventured into the underground facility to see where the Tigers once roared through granite to build this iconic piece of Scottish engineering.
Six decades on from its opening, its current owners Drax are investing £80 million to upgrade and refurbish the plant. Once completed in 2027, the plant will be able to generate even more power, making it even more important to the country’s national grid.
Ian Kinnaird, Drax’s FlexGen Assets Director, said: “As we have celebrated Cruachan’s diamond anniversary throughout the year, I have heard from so many people who have a special place in their heart for this unique power station. Each year at our award-winning visitor centre we encounter people who have wonderful stories and memories of working at the site or passing through on a memorable school trip.”
“Drax believes Cruachan has a bright future as well as a history and a legacy to be proud of. We are investing £80 million in upgrading and refurbishing the plant so it can play a role in stabilising the national grid for many more decades to come.”
The upgrade project will see the generating capacity of two of the plant’s four units increased to raise the facility’s total generating capacity to 480 MWs.
ENDS
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Editor notes
About Drax
Drax’s purpose is to enable a zero carbon, lower cost energy future. Our strategic aims are to be a global leader in both carbon removals and sustainable biomass pellet production, and to be a UK leader in dispatchable, renewable generation.
Our operations
Drax owns and operates a portfolio of flexible, low-carbon and renewable UK power assets – biomass, hydro, and pumped storage generation – which provide dispatchable power and system support services to the electricity grid.
We are the UK’s largest source of renewable power by output, and Drax Power Station is the UK’s largest single source of renewable electricity by output.
Through our pellet production facilities in North America, Drax is the world’s second largest producer of sustainable biomass. Drax has 18 operational and development pellet production sites which will have a nameplate capacity of around 5.4 million tonnes once expansions are complete.
Drax supplies renewable electricity to UK industrial and commercial customers, offering a range of energy-related services including energy optimisation, as well as electric vehicle strategy and management.
Our future
Drax is progressing options for carbon removals using bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) technology globally and at our UK biomass power station. We are progressing plans to develop 7 million tonnes of carbon removals through BECCS by 2030.
In 2024, we launched Elimini, a US-based company to lead our global efforts to deliver carbon removals at megaton scale. Elimini’s purpose is to remove carbon for good. To achieve this, it is convening engineers, environmentalists, communities, investors, and innovators to scale the market for carbon removals, with the aspiration of transforming our economies from carbon emitters to carbon removers. For more information, visit elimini.com.
