Since its opening by Queen Elizabeth II on 15 October 1965, Cruachan Power Station has played a vital role in powering homes and businesses across Scotland. One of just four pumped storage hydro plants in the UK, 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 were involved 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.
To celebrate Cruachan’s diamond anniversary, Drax is calling on the public to contribute pictures and stories that capture Cruachan’s history—whether it’s a snapshot from a family visit, a tale of a guided tour inside the mountain, or memories of working on the facility’s construction. These can be sent to Drax by email to [email protected]
Sarah Cameron, Drax’s Scotland Community Manager, said: “We know Cruachan has a special place in the hearts of so many people across Scotland and around the world. Each year at our visitor centre we encounter people who have wonderful stories and memories of working at the site or passing through on a memorable school trip.
“It’s important that these are not lost over time, so we want to hear from as many people as possible in our special diamond anniversary year. It is vital that we preserve photos and memories for future generations to come.”
It’s also a special year for Cruachan beyond its anniversary, with work set to begin on a landmark £80 million refurbishment and upgrade to the site. The 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
Featured image caption: Cruachan Power Station dam construction, early 1960s.
Media contacts:
Aidan Kerr
Senior External Affairs Manager
E: [email protected]
T: 07849090368
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.
